St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi

St. Joseph's Cathedral
Basic information
Location PakistanRawalpindi, Pakistan
Affiliation Roman Catholic
District Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
Leadership vacant
Architectural style red-brick

St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.[1]

Four armed guards sit at the gates of the Cathedral, guarding it as well as the Bishop's House in a garden set behind a high wall. Threats from Islamic militants have made this protection essential. Although almost any Christian institution faces similar danger, the Church has no money to pay for more guards. [2]

St. Joseph's Cathedral has large congregations from Rawalpindi, Islamabad and surrounding areas for Good Friday, Easter and Christmas services each year.[3][4]

The Cathedral parish is also home to St. Catherine's Convent. The Franciscan Missionaries of Mary host the St. Catherine's Sewing Center, training poor women in sewing, crochet and embroidery; the women produce hand-made objects for sale.[5]

On 21 September 2009, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan, presided at the ordination in St. Joseph's Cathedral, of the new coadjutor bishop of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, Bishop Rufin Anthony. More than 1,500 people attended the event.[6]

In January 2012 a youth group from the Cathedral Parish launched a website "for realising the potential of youth and expressing their concerns in a Christian way", with the hope that it would help counter fundamentalism and fanaticism. Sister Athens Angeles of the Daughters of St. Paul was the main organizer of the group.[7]

Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo, the former Bishop of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad diocese, died after prolonged illness on 18 February 2013. His funeral was held at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral on 20 February. He was buried in the cathedral compound.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Cathedrals in Pakistan".
  2. ↑ The Telegraph, UK, 24 August 2002
  3. ↑ "Christmas celebrated with fervour in Pakistan 26 December 2003 Pakistan Times".
  4. ↑ "Christians celebrate Easter today Dawn 11 April 2004".
  5. ↑ "UCANews.com November 15, 2007".
  6. ↑ "UCANews 23 September 2009".
  7. ↑ UCANews January 23, 2012
  8. ↑ The Express Tribune February 19, 2013


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