Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad
, Pakistan
, 250 kilometers south of the Capital Islamabad
.
The foundation of the Cathedral was laid in 1965 and the building was consecrated in 1969.
The cathedral has played a role in promoting harmony and understanding between the nation’s religious communities through events like the 2007 dinner Faisalabad
’s Council for Inter-religious dialogue hosted for Muslim leaders and faithful.
In 2004, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, grand imam (prayer leader) of Badshahi Mosque
in Lahore
, was chief guest at a ceremony to plant the Peace Pole on the lawn in front of the Cathedral.
On the 100th anniversary of the celebration of the first Church Unity Octave,
Catholic and Protestant leaders invited each other to their churches. The first of these gatherings was hosted by Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, who invited Presbyterian Church leaders and laypeople to the Cathedral on January 18, 2008.
A special Mass was held at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 19, 2009, attended by about 20 diocesan priests, to celebrate the Year for Priests.
On 26 September 2009, hundreds of people gathered in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul to greet Bishop Rufin Anthony
, a native of Faisalabad
, who on 21 September 2009 took over as coadjutor bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
.
On April 17, 2010 the Diocese organized a special ceremony to celebrate its Golden Jubilee. Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana
, Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan
, Bishop Joseph Coutts (Faisalabad), Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha
(Lahore), and Bishop Andrew Francis
(Multan) spoke on the occasion. At the Jubilee Mass at the Cathedral attended by about 5,000 Catholics from 21 parishes, Archbishop Yllana said that the Vatican is happy to see the number of priestly and religious vocations in the diocese.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan.Erected in 1960, as the Diocese of Lyallpur, the diocese was created from the Diocese of Multan...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, 250 kilometers south of the Capital Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
.
The foundation of the Cathedral was laid in 1965 and the building was consecrated in 1969.
The cathedral has played a role in promoting harmony and understanding between the nation’s religious communities through events like the 2007 dinner Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
’s Council for Inter-religious dialogue hosted for Muslim leaders and faithful.
In 2004, Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad, grand imam (prayer leader) of Badshahi Mosque
Badshahi Mosque
The Badshahi Mosque or the 'King's Mosque' in Lahore, commissioned by the sixth Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and completed in 1673, is the second largest mosque in Pakistan and South Asia and the fifth largest mosque in the world...
in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, was chief guest at a ceremony to plant the Peace Pole on the lawn in front of the Cathedral.
On the 100th anniversary of the celebration of the first Church Unity Octave,
Catholic and Protestant leaders invited each other to their churches. The first of these gatherings was hosted by Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad, who invited Presbyterian Church leaders and laypeople to the Cathedral on January 18, 2008.
A special Mass was held at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 19, 2009, attended by about 20 diocesan priests, to celebrate the Year for Priests.
On 26 September 2009, hundreds of people gathered in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul to greet Bishop Rufin Anthony
Rufin Anthony
Rufin Anthony is a Pakistani Roman Catholic Bishop. He completed his primary and secondary school in Khushpur. He received his religious training at the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta and the Christ the King Major Seminary, Karachi and was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of...
, a native of Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
, who on 21 September 2009 took over as coadjutor bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Pakistan....
.
On April 17, 2010 the Diocese organized a special ceremony to celebrate its Golden Jubilee. Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana
Adolfo Tito Yllana
Adolfo Tito Yllana was born on 6 February 1948 in Naga City, Philippines. He is a Roman Catholic archbishop, and is presently the Apostolic Nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He undertook religious studies from the Holy Rosary Seminary also in the same city. On 19 March 1972 he was...
, Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan
Apostolic Nunciature to Pakistan
The Apostolic Nunciature to Pakistan is a Vatican Diplomatic Post equivalent to an Embassy.The Nunciature was located in the St. Anthony’s Parish in its Chancellery at old Clifton when the Vatican established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on July 17, 1950.When the Capital of Pakistan was...
, Bishop Joseph Coutts (Faisalabad), Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha
Lawrence Saldanha
Lawrence John Saldanha was born in Mangalore, India on 25 October 1936. He received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan on 16 January 1960....
(Lahore), and Bishop Andrew Francis
Andrew Francis (bishop)
Andrew Francis is a Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop. He was born in Adah, Pakistan on 29 November 1946. He received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi. On 10 January 1972, he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore. He has been rector of...
(Multan) spoke on the occasion. At the Jubilee Mass at the Cathedral attended by about 5,000 Catholics from 21 parishes, Archbishop Yllana said that the Vatican is happy to see the number of priestly and religious vocations in the diocese.