RAWALPINDI, DIOCESE of. — It derives from the apostolic prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir, erected on 6 July 1887 with territory detached from the diocese of Lahore and entrusted to the missionaries of the Society of St Joseph of Mill Hill.
It was elevated to a diocese, under the name of R., on 10 July 1947, remaining entrusted to the same society and declared a suffragan of the archdiocese of Delhi and Simla. On 14 July 1950 its boundaries were reduced to that part of the territory which, once the negotiations currently under way concerning the political status of Kashmir had been concluded, would prove to belong to West Pakistan. On 15 July 1950, when the new ecclesiastical province of Karachi was erected, the diocese of R. was declared a suffragan thereof. It has an area of 269,097 sq km. The territory is largely mountainous (the Karakoram range is located there) and is crossed by the Indus River. It borders the archdiocese of Delhi and Simla and the dioceses of Lahore, Multan, and Bombay, as well as the State of Afghanistan and Tibet. The population reaches 12 million inhabitants, almost all of them Muslims. There are 15,000 Catholics, with approximately 2,000 catechumens, and 11,000 Protestants. Thirty-three foreign priests of the Society of Mill Hill work there; they have established 15 primary and 31 secondary stations and built 11 churches and 16 chapels. The missionaries are assisted by about thirty catechists and 117 sisters. There are various highly regarded elementary, middle, and secondary schools. There are also 2 orphanages, 2 dispensaries, and 2 hospitals. The hospital of R., the capital of the mission, is directed by the Medical Mission Sisters of Philadelphia and is developing into an institution of great importance with the establishment of a maternity and infant-care centre and a school for midwives and nurses. The diocese also possesses a printing press.