A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF KARACHI

It is believed that St. Thomas the Apostle passed through the territory of the present Archdiocese on his way to South India.

At the end of the XVI or the beginning of the XVII century, Augustinian Missionaries evangelized Sindh. On account of the persecution they had to leave and were succeeded by the Discalced Carmelites who remained up to the year 1672, with their headquarters in Thatta. After the conquest of Sindh by the British in 1842-1843, the Carmelites returned to this territory, at first only as chaplains to the troops. They remained till 1852 when the Capuchin Fathers took charge. In 1856, the Jesuit Fathers took over first German, then Italian, American, and lastly Spanish Jesuits (from 1922-1935). Up to this time, the Mission was an Ecclesiastical District of the Archdiocese of Bombay. On 1″ June 1934, it was separated from the Archdiocese of Bombay and made into a “MissioIndependens” and was entrusted to the Franciscan Fathers of the Dutch Province, who took over officially on the 22nd June 1935. It then comprised the old civil divisions of Sindh. Balochistan and Khairpur State. On 14 august 1947, the Indian Subcontinent was partitioned and the new state of Pakistan came into being with Karachi as the capital. Accordingly, on 28 May 1948, Karachi was made a Diocese comprising the former Mission of Sindh and Balochistan.

Two years later, on 15th July 1950, Karachi was raised to the status of Archdiocese. On 28th April 1958, the Archdiocese of Karachi ceded much of its territory for the creation of the new Diocese of Hyderabad which was entrusted to the Franciscan Friars of the Dutch Province. Karachi retained the whole coastal area of Balochistan and that part of Sindh that lay west of the river Indus.

With the creation of the Prefecture Apostolic of Quetta on 9th November 2001. Karachi ceded all its territory in Balochistan and Sindh, retaining only the metropolitan area of Karachi city. Karachi, the capital of Sindh, is the major seaport and financial hub of Pakistan. Comprising six civil districts with an area of about 5000 square kilometers it has a population estimated at 20 million.

 

STATISTICS OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF KARACHI

 

Area (Sq. K.M)	180,000
Population	21,000,000
Catholics	200,000
Diocesan Priests	33
Religious Priests	23
Religious Brothers	00
Professed Religious Sisters	119
Parishes	16
Educational Institutions	101

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