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 the status of 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 would fall within West Pakistan, following the conclusion of negotiations then in progress regarding the political status of Kashmir. On 15 July 1950, with the establishment of the new ecclesiastical province of Karachi, the diocese of R. was declared a suffragan thereof.
It has an area of 269,097 sq km. The territory is largely mountainous (it includes the Karakoram range) and is traversed by the Indus River. It borders on the archdiocese of Delhi and Simla and on the dioceses of Lahore, Multan, and Bombay, as well as on the states of Afghanistan and Tibet. The population numbers about 12 million inhabitants, almost entirely Muslim. There are 15,000 Catholics with about 2,000 catechumens, and 11,000 Protestants. The work is carried on by 33 foreign priests of the Mill Hill Society, who have established 15 primary and 31 secondary stations and built 11 churches and 16 chapels. They are assisted by some thirty catechists and 117 sisters. There are various elementary, middle, and higher schools of high repute. There are also 2 orphanages, 2 dispensaries, and 2 hospitals. The hospital at R., the mission’s headquarters, is run by the Medical Mission Sisters of Philadelphia and is developing into an important centre with the establishment of a maternity and child welfare unit and a school for midwives and nurses. The diocese also possesses a printing press.