MULTAN, Diocese of. - The mission of M. owes its origin to the Capuchin missionaries, who during and after the English occupation of the Punjab founded several stations with a church and residence for the military chaplain, among them that of M. in 1859. It was part of the diocese of Lahore until 1936, when (Dec. 17) it was separated from Lahore, erected as an apostolic prefecture and entrusted to the Dominicans. On July 20, 1939 it was elevated to a diocese, suffragan of the archdiocese of Delhi and Simla.
It has an area of 144,695 sq. km. and is situated in the southern part of the province of the Punjab, in western Pakistan. On July 15, 1950, the new ecclesiastical province of Karachi having been erected for the circumscriptions existing in western Pakistan, it was made a suffragan of the said metropolitan see.
According to approximate calculations the total population is 10,026,000. Catholics number 38,121 plus 8,808 catechumens, Protestants about 60,000, animists and low-caste Hindus 30,000, the rest of the inhabitants profess the Muslim religion. It has 11 churches and 48 chapels, 12 mission districts with a resident priest. Owing to its recent creation the diocese has no parishes or quasi-parishes canonically erected. The missionaries number 22, all Dominicans (16 Italians and 4 Indians), assisted by 14 Dominican sisters, 19 Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, 9 missionary sisters of the school. The works of charity are represented by 1 hospital with 80 beds, 7 dispensaries, 3 orphanages with 200 orphans. Instruction is given in 14 elementary schools, almost all coeducational: 4 middle schools and as many high schools; 20 male teachers, 37 female teachers, 56 catechists. The spoken language is Punjabi. The official language, however, the only one taught in the schools, is Urdu. The pious associations and those of Catholic Action are in an incipient state and it is difficult to organize them because the faithful live for the most part scattered in numerous villages.
Bibliography4 works
Pompeo Borgna