St. Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, and is located near the Empress Market in the Saddar locality in central Karachi. The church was completed in 1881, and can accommodate 1,500 worshipers. At the front of the cathedral, there is the Monument to Christ the King, built between 1926 and 1931 to commemorate the Jesuit mission in Sindh.

History The first church in Sindh, called St. Patrick’s Church, was built on the grounds of the cathedral in 1845 as a Carmelite mission at a cost of 6,000 rupees under the leadership of Karachi's first Carmelite priest, Father Casaboch. As the Catholic population of the city grew, the city's Catholics raised money for construction of a new church. Groundbreaking was done in 1878, and the church was consecrated on 24 April 1881. Despite the construction of the new building, the little church continued to function until it was destroyed by a storm in 1885.

Post-partition In 1978 the cathedral celebrated its centenary. The Pakistan Post Office issued special commemorative stamps on the occasion. Pope John Paul I sent special greetings and blessings on the occasion.

In November 1991 the cathedral was visited by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro of Karachi also spoke on the occasion.

A bomb exploded inside the Cathedral causing an injury and destruction. The explosion on 22 December 1998, occurred minutes after the congregation celebrated Mass. Most people had departed when the bomb went off. One woman was wounded and there was partial damage to the interior of the cathedral.National Catholic Reporter 8 January 1999

The cathedral's grounds are adorned with a marble Monument to Christ the King, which was constructed in 1931 to commemorate the memory of the Jesuit Mission in Sindh.

In 2003, the cathedral was declared as a protected monument because of its outstanding architectural beauty under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act.

The Cathedral, with a seating capacity of 2,000, used to be the biggest Catholic church in the country. On 9 November 2011 the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra blessed St. Peter’s Church, Karachi, now the largest Catholic church in Pakistan. It can seat 5,000 people.

In December 2018, the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the parish was led by the Archbishop of Karachi Joseph Cardinal Coutts. He also launched the book St Patrick’s: A Journey of 175 Years by Goretti and Michael Ali, written specially for the occasion.

On 5 October 2019 the Archbishop announced that Fr. Saleh Diego would be the new parish priest of St. Patrick's Parish.Christian Voice, 13 October 2019

On 11 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Benny Travas of Multan to succeed Cardinal Joseph Coutts as Archbishop of Karachi. Travas was installed as Archbishop of Karachi at this Cathedral on 11 April 2021.

Design The present-day cathedral is built in Gothic Revival architecture; it measures 52 metres by 22 metres, and has the capacity to accommodate at least 1,500 worshippers at the same time. It was designed and realized by three members of the Society of Jesus: The design of the cathedral was conceived by the architect Father Karl Wagner, SJ and the construction was supervised by the lay Brothers George Kluver, SJ and Herman Lau, SJ.Heritage: Standing tall (The last of the great churches that were constructed in Karachi, St Patrick’s Cathedral) Dawn (newspaper), Published 25 December 2011, Retrieved 12 August 2020

The Gazetteer of the Province of Sindh provides a description of the cathedral:

Its exterior is not ornamental, though striking from a distance, but money and art have been lavished on the interior. The chancel, itself spacious, acquires a special impressiveness but its additional height, while the noble contours of the aspiring altar are seen to the best advantage. The whole interior is painted in oil and the windows are all of stained glass, donated by the members of the congregation.

Stained-glass windows The cathedral's stained-glass windows were produced by Franz Mayer of Munich in Germany. They depict the following scenes:Ali, G. and Ali, M. St. Patrick’s: A journey of 175 years. Archdiocese of Karachi, 2018.

Pentecost The sacrifice of Melchisedek The sacrifice of Isaac The Paschal lamb The miraculous Manna The annunciation The visitation The Nativity of Jesus The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple The flight into Egypt The boy Jesus in the temple The death of Joseph The baptism of Jesus The wedding at Cana St. Peter receives the keys Jesus raises Lazarus to life The institution of the Eucharist Agony of Jesus Jesus carries his cross The Crucifixion The resurrection of Jesus The Ascension of Jesus The crowning of Our Lady The first Jesuits

Choir The first music mistress was Sr. Fredericka FC who served from 1878 to 1902.

From the 1920s to the 70s, the Cathedral had a polyphonic choir of about thirty members. The members were: Sopranos: Jessie Fernandez, Olive D'Costa, Mary D'Silva, Hilda Freitas, Winnie Lobo, Carol Lobo

Altos: Essie Menezes, Emma Correa, Nita Dias, Maureen Rodrigues, Ioline Fitchew, Ann Fitchew Armstrong

Bases: Eustach Caldera, Sonoo D'Abreo, Austen Frietas, Isaac Noronha, R. C. Fernandes

Tenors: Vincent D'Abreo, Vincent Lobo, Glenn D'Abreo, Hector Lewis, Joseph Moniz, Derek Domingo

The choir was conducted at first in the 1920s and 1930s by Carlos Fernandes, who was replaced by C. M. Lobo until the early 1970s when he was replaced by his nephew Vincent Lobo. The organists for the choir had been C. M. Lobo before he took over the position of director and then Leo DeSousa who was followed by Fr. Ronnie Colaco until the choir folded in May 1974. It was never replaced by a polyphonic choral group of its previous capability.

In 2018 the parish had five choirs: the Seniors, Shamrock, Praise in Harmony, Cathedral choir and Urdu choir.

Gallery

Parish Priests Fr. Francis Casabosch OCD 1844–1847 Fr. J. Lopez 1847–1850 Fr. G. D'Silva 1850 Fr. P. Ireneus OCD 1850–1851 Fr. Joh Chrysostomus OCD 1852–1852 Fr. Andres Jesu Mariae OCD 1853–1853 Fr. R. J. Periston 1854–1855 Fr. P. Felix O. Cap. 1855–1858 Fr. P. Raphael O. Cap. 1858–1859 Fr. George Bridges SJ 1859 Fr. G. Strickland SJ 1859 Fr. Joseph Willy SJ 1859–1865 Fr. Basilius Haefly SJ 1865–1867 Fr. Anselm Leiter SJ 1867–1868 Fr. Nicolas Pagani SJ 1868–1872 Fr. George Bridges SJ 1872–1874 Fr. Joseph Nueckel SJ 1874–1876 Fr. Francis Belz SJ 1876–1887 Fr. A. Bruder SJ 1887–1894 Fr. H. Jurgens SJ 1894–1897 Fr. T. Peters SJ 1897–1900 Fr. J. B. Schroeter SJ 1900–1910 Fr. C. Gertler SJ 1910 Fr. A. Gyr SJ 1910–1916 Fr. D. Lynch SJ 1916–1918 Fr. E. Farrell SJ 1918–1920 Fr. S. Boswin SJ 1920–1922 Fr. J. Meyer SJ 1922–1923 Fr. Vincent Gimenez SJ 1922–1935 Fr. Valens Wienk OFM 1935–1936 Fr. Salesius Lemmens OFM 1936–1938 Fr. Alcuinus van Miltenburg OFM 1938–1940 Fr. Achilles Meersman OFM 1940–1941 Fr. Alcuinus van Miltenburg OFM 1941–1943 Fr. Floregius Rypma OFM 1943–1955 Fr. Modestine Pöttgens OFM 1955–1966 Fr. Francis de Souza 1966–1975 Fr. Robert D'Silva 1975–1983 Fr. Anthony Martis 1983–1992 Fr. James DeSouza 1992–2000 Fr. Achilles DeSouza 2000–2001 Fr. Joseph D'Mello 2001–2007 Fr. Edward Joseph 2007–2014 Fr. Mario A. Rodrigues 2014–2019 Fr. Saleh Diego 2019–2021 Fr. Ryan Joseph 2021–2023 Fr. Benjamin Shahzad 2023–

See also Monument to Christ the King List of Jesuit sites

References