KARACHI, ARCHDIOCESE of. – In western Pakistan. The mission, undertaken by the Franciscans of the Dutch province in 1932, began in 1935 with a certain dependence (out of regard for the Portuguese patronage) on the archbishop of Bombay. It was erected as a diocese, by separation from the archdiocese of Bombay, of which it was declared a suffragan by decree dated 20 May 1948, and entrusted to the Order of Friars Minor. On 15 July 1950, when an ecclesiastical province was established for the entire territory of western Pakistan, the diocese of K. was raised to an archdiocese, with the dioceses of Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi as suffragans.
It measures 262,000 sq. km and comprises the civil provinces of Baluchistan and Sind. It borders Afghanistan, Iran, the archdiocese of Bombay, and the dioceses of Ahmedabad, Multan and Ajmer. It has a population of 7,500,000 inhabitants, including 200,000 pagans, 3,000 Protestants and 25,000 Catholics. The missionary personnel consists of 44 foreign Franciscans and 15 indigenous secular priests; 7 lay brothers; 82 sisters from various institutes, about forty of whom are indigenous; and 21 catechists. The archdiocese has 8 districts, 16 parishes and 26 secondary stations; 2 churches and 18 chapels.
Education is entrusted to a body of 250 teachers: 195 male teachers and 55 female teachers, with a total of approximately 2,000 children in the elementary schools, 650 students in the middle schools and 4,000 in the secondary schools, and 40 in the vocational schools.
There is no seminary, and young men who wish to become priests are sent to the Pontifical Seminary of Kandy or to the Major Seminary of Mangalore. There is a theological and philosophical studentate for the formation of religious, with approximately 20 clerics. The charitable works consist of 7 hospitals with 101 beds, 4 dispensaries with an average of 40,000 consultations annually, 3 orphanages with 221 orphans, and 12 shelters for the poor with 25 residents.
The metropolitan city of K. is the capital of the new State of Pakistan and the seat of the central government, as well as the seat of the apostolic delegation established by brief dated 17 July 1950. Pious associations and Catholic Action are flourishing. The periodicals Dor Munianti Rotti and Catholic Chronicle are published with a respectable circulation.