The Diocese of Multan (Lat: ''Dioecesis Multanensis'') is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The diocese is located in the southern

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in a central part of Pakistan. The total population of the diocese is about 7.5 million, out of which Christians are about 200,000. The diocese of Multan covers an area of 100,705 km² and comprises the following civil boundaries. In the

Multan Division Multan Division is an administrative division of Punjab Province, Pakistan. It was created during British colonial rule in South Asia in the 19th century. It includes 4 districts: Khanewal, Lodhran, Vehari and Multan and 15 Tehsils. Its reco ...

, the districts of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Vehari Vehari, also spelled Vihari, is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi ...

Khanewal Khanewal is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in Punjab, Pakistan. Khanewal also contains Pakistan's third largest railway junction. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Etymology According to one theory, Khanewal ...

and

Lodhran Lodhran (), is a city and the capital of Lodhran District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 81st largest city. It is located on the northern side of River Sutlej The Sutlej River or the Satluj River is a major river in ...

. In the Bahawalpur Division, the districts of Bahawalnagar, Bahawalnagar and

Rahim Yar Khan Rahim Yar Khan (; ) is a city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 21st most populous city in Pakistan and is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District. The city's administration is div ...

. In the Dera Ghazi Khan Division the districts of

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

, Muzaffargarh, Layyah and

Rajanpur Rajanpur is a city and the headquarters of Rajanpur District in the far southwestern part of Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. The district lies entirely west of the Indus River. History Rajanpur was founded by Sheikh Rajan Shah, the Makhdoom ...

. In 1936 some adjacent districts of Multan and the State of Bahawalpur were detached from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

to form the prefecture Apostolic of Multan. In 1939 this area was detached from Lahore to become a separate diocese. In 1960 the diocese was divided and Bishop Cialeo moved to

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

as the first bishop of the newly erected diocese of Faisalabad. Bishop Louis Scheerer was appointed the second bishop of Multan. In 1966 Bishop Louis Scheerer died and Bertrand Boland became the Bishop of Multan diocese. In 1984 Bishop Boland retired and handed over to his auxiliary Bishop Patras Yusaf. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lahore. The Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer is the main church of the Diocese. The diocese is also home to the Pastoral Institute of Multan which serves the Church at a national level. On 3 October 1989, Pope John Paul II sent congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the diocese. The diocese had 10 parishes with about 50,000 Catholics at the time. By June 2008 this had grown to 18 parishes. On 17 September 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Father Raymond Saeed apostolic administrator for the Diocese. On 10 January 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed Fr.

Andrew Francis Andrew Michael Scott Francis is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in many television shows and films including '' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic'' as Shining Armor, '' MegaMan NT Warrior'' as MegaMan.EXE, '' Monster Rancher'' as Genki, '' ...

from the Archdiocese of Lahore as the new bishop. On 29 October 2001 four gunmen entered St. Dominic's Church, Bahawalpur in the Diocese and shot and killed 15 worshippers and a police guard. On 29 April 2010

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

elevated the Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta to the rank of apostolic vicariate. He appointed Fr. Victor Gnanapragasam as apostolic vicar of the new ecclesiastical circumscription and the titular bishop of Timida. Fr. Victor was parish priest at Khanewal in the Multan Diocese from 1979 to 1985. On 13 June 2014

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepted the resignation of Bishop Andrew Francis, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law, and appointed Rev. Benny Mario Travas, of the clergy of the Archdiocese of Karachi (

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

) as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

Sede Vacante In the Catholic Church, ''sede vacante'' is the state during which a diocese or archdiocese is without a prelate installed in office, with the prelate's office being the cathedral. The term is used frequently in reference to a papal interre ...

et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the same Diocese. On 29 May 2015, Pope Francis appointed Travas Bishop of Multan. He received his episcopal consecration on 15 August 2015 from Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader, Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan. On 11 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Travas to succeed Joseph Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi. On 9 December 2022,

appointed Fr. Yousaf Sohan as Bishop of Multan. In a 12 December 2022 interview the Bishop-elect outlined his plans to promote education in the diocese. He plans to build more schools and enable homeless children to access education. The Catholic Board of Education, Multan, currently manages 27 schools which provide education to thousands.

Marian shrine

The diocese administers the shrine of Mary, Queen of Thal, built on the pattern of the shrine of

Our Lady of Lourdes Our Lady of Lourdes (; ) is one the Marian devotions, devotional names or titles under which the Catholic Church venerates the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary. The name commemorates a series of Lourdes apparitions, 18 apparitions reported by ...

in 1988.

Ordinaries

* Francesco Benedetto Cialeo, O.P. (15 January 1937 appointed – 13 April 1960 appointed, Bishop of the Diocese of Lyallpur, in Lyallpur, Pakistan) * Aloysius Louis Scheerer, O.P. (13 April 1960 appointed – 27 January 1966 died) * Ernest Bertrand Boland, O.P. (17 May 1966 appointed – 20 October 1984 resigned) * Patras Yusaf (20 October 1984 appointed – 29 December 1998 died) *

(3 December 1999 appointed – 13 June 2014 resigned) * Benny Mario Travas (15 August 2015 – 11 February 2021) * Yousaf Sohan (appointed 9 December 2022) Agenzia Fides, 9 December 2022
/ref>

Schools

St Albans High School, Multan La Salle Higher Secondary School St Mary's Higher Secondary School Sacred Heart Girls High School Dominican Convent Bahawalpur Dominican Study Center Bahawalpur St. Joseph's High School Saeed Colony Multan St. Joseph's High School Bishop’s House Multan St. Anthony's High School Louis Colony Multan St. Peter's Primary School Gulzeb Colony Vehari Road, Multan St. Joseph's High School Civil Lines, Khanewal St. Vincent's High School Chak 133/16-L District. Khanewal St. John Primary School Chak # 120/T.D.A. District. Layyah Dar-ul-Tarbiat (Ibn-e-Mariam) High School Chak # 270/T.D.A. Loretto, District. Layyah St. Joseph's High School Chak # 75/B Tehsil Karore District. Layyah Mission High School Chak # 270/T.D.A. Loretto District. Layyah Holy Cross High School Church Road, Rahimyar Khan St. Dominic High School Model Town-A Bahawalpur St. Joseph's High School, Yousaf Town, Bahawalpur St. Joseph's Convent High School Chak 133/16-L District. Khanewal St. Raphael's Primary School Christian Colony, Muzaffargarh St. Jude's High School Chak # 5/4-L Rungpur District. Muzaffargarh St. Joseph's Middle School Chak # 11/W.B. Catholic Church Vehari St. Michael's English Medium High School (Regd) # 571/T.D.A Chowk Munda, Derekabad St. Mary's Middle School Chak # 587/T.D.A Derekabad Good Shepherd Convent School, Naqasband Colony Rasheedabad, Multan Dominican's Primary School, Razabad Colony, Multan

References

{{authority control

Christian organizations established in 1936 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Lahore

Marian shrine

Ordinaries

Schools

See also

References