St. Anthony's Parish celebrates Platinum Jubilee
by Michael Ali
On February 13, 2012 the St. Anthony's Parish in Frere Town, Karachi will
complete 75 years of its existence. In this span of time, the parish has grown
from a small church housed in a donated bungalow to today's grand building and
is one of the leading parishes of the Achdiocese.
History of the parish
The areas constituting – St. Anthony’s parish were formerly a part of St.
Patrick’s Parish. However it was difficult for the families residing beyond
Frere Hall around the Cantonment railway station and all the way to Clifton to
attend masses St. Patrick’s. It was still more inconvenient for the children to
walk all that way and back.
A decision was therefore taken to cut off that part of St. Patrick’s parish
situated beyond the Frere Hall and to erect it into a separate unit.
Thus, in early 1937 a plot of land with a large bungalow was acquired in a
central locality on McNeil Road. The Bungalow belonged to Mr. J.S. D’Souza.
(Mr. J.S. D’Souza owned a large furniture hiring firm on Elphinstone Street,
Opp. present Moosajee and Sons. Mr. D’Souza migrated to Canada in the early
1970s).
The First Church
The bungalow, acquired consisted of a drawing-room surrounded by four large
rooms. The central room was converted into a mini church, two rooms on one side
served as the parochial house while the two others would be utilized as a
school.
On February 13, 1937 a relic of St. Anthony was solemnly brought in procession
to his sanctuary and the first parish priest installed. He was Rev. Fr. Aquina
van Liebergen O.F.M.
In early, 1937 the Catholics of the newly formed parish, formerly under the
Archdiocese of Bombay and now a ‘Missio Independenens’ entrusted to the
Franciscan Fathers of the Dutch Province, consisted chiefly of Europeans and
Anglo-Indians employed for the greater part in the railways and a large number
of Goans, South Indians and Punjabis who worked around the area.
On June 25, 1939 the foundation stone of the present church was laid, but due
to the war, it was decided to postpone the construction.The architect of this
church, built in traditional Gothic style was Bro. Hilary Lardenoye O.F.M
In the compound of the church is a beautiful grotto honoring Our Lady.
Thus, the parish of St. Anthony’s is multi-lingual. Masses are said in English,
Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil and Konkani though not necessarily every week but at
special times of the Ecclesiastical year.
According to the Church records St. Anthony’s is a growing parish. The parish
has grown from strength to strength. In 1941 it had 829 parishioners while in
1945 it rose to 1,021. In 1983, the figure went up to 6,000 and today, it is
estimated to be in the region of 8,000 owing largely to inter-parish migration
mainly from the parishes of Christ the King and St. Patrick’s and the
construction of many residential blocks within walking distances of the Church,
inhabited solely by Catholic families.
Incidentally, St. Anthony’s parish has the largest number of foreigners as its
parishioners. The covered territory includes the posh area of Clifton and the
Defence Housing Society (DHA).
The Apostolic Delegation of the Vatican was also housed in the parish in its
Chancellery at old Clifton after the Holy See established diplomatic relations
with Pakistan on July 17, 1950 in the precinct of the parish (Stella Maris).
According to the latest figures ( Feb. 2011) the parish comprises of about
1,250 English and about 1,600 Urdu speaking families making up a total of
roughly 15,000 -18,000 parishioners.
Parish Statistics
In the first year of the erection of the parish there were 39 Baptisms with the
honour of being the first to be Baptised in the new parish going to Anthony
Joseph Mahnga ( February 7, 1937). The first to be Confirmed by Msgr. Salesius
Lemmens, O.F.M. the Ecclesiastical Superior of the Province was John Ligory
Castro on August 1, 1937. In that year 11 children received this sacrament.
In 1937, only one marriage took place, that of Hector Rollins and Gladys Morris
on November 7. And in the same year the first funeral was of Philomena Moses
who passed away at the age of 1 year and 2 months on April 5, the first adult
funeral was of Francina Gomes on June 21, 1937.
The only person from this parish to be conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders
was Rev. Fr. Theophilus D’Souza on January 9, 1972. However, St. Anthony’s has
offered seven to the religious life. They are Sr. Maria Monica, Sr. Cecelia
Martin, Sr. Theresa Pinto, Sr. Ernestine Gomes, Sr. Julie Pacheco and Sr.
Clarissa Mary. All joined the Daughters of the Cross. Also from this parish is
Sr. Maqsooda of the Sisters of the Good Shepard.
The Present Church
On June 25, 1939 the first corner stone of the new (present) church was laid,
but due to the war, it was impossible to execute the plans. It was decided,
therefore, to postpone the construction till after the war.
In mid 1941 the old ‘Mini-Church’ was painted and renovated just before the
feast of Pentecost. At this celebration the new and beautiful antependium of
the altar, the work of a generous lady artist was used for the first time. At
that time, Rev. Fr. Valens Wienk O.F.M was the parish priest. Collection of
funds for the new church carried on unabated and the new church dedicated to
the great Franciscan Doctor St. Anthony of Padua was completed in the early
50’s. The architect of this church built in traditional Gothic style was Bro.
(later Fr.) Hilary Lardenoye O.F.M. It has a seating capacity of about 300. In
the compound of the church is a beautiful grotto honoring our Lady.
In the 2004, the church’s seating capacity was expanded by building an
extension on its left side. This plan was executed keeping the structure’s
overall architectural appearance in mind.
Groups in the Parish
Over the years the following groups have functioned in the parish, Parish
Council, Senior, Junior and Children’s Choirs (English and Urdu), Legion of
Mary ( several presidia), Vincent de Paul Society, Youth group (English and
Urdu), Lector’s group (English and Urdu), Eucharistic Ministers, Ushers and
Collectors, Family of Jesus and Mary, Familia group, Sunday school (English and
Urdu) and Security group.
The parish also has chapters of the Catholic Women’s Guild, Womens' Sodality
and the Goinkar’s Own Academy.
Parish Priests
Below is a list of Parish Priests to date:
Rev. Fr. Aquina van Liebergen, O.F.M., Rev. Fr. Valens Weink, O.F.M., Fr.
Gordon Weink O.F.M., Fr. Xavier Paes O.F.M., Fr. Erastus O.F.M., Fr. Michael
D’cruz O.F.M., Fr. Cyprian Dias O.F.M., Fr. Joshua O.F.M.
Handing over of the parish from Franciscans to the Diocesan priest (July 1986)
Fr. Robert D’silva, Fr. Melito Dias, Fr. Benny Travis, Fr. Edward Joseph,
Fr. Joseph D’Mello, Fr. Robert D’Silva, Fr. Melito Dias.
Epilogue
The old St. Anthony’s School, built along the wall of the compound was
demolished and in its place, on the opposite side, am imposing three storied
structure was constructed for the school which incorporated a hall to seat the
over flow of parishioners from the church in 1990.
Every Tuesday, a large number of devotees from all over Karachi make the
pilgrimage to the church to attend the special prayers to St. Anthony---the
great wonderworker---for their petitions. So also, a large number of the
faithful attend the Tridensina prayers which culminates in the Feast of the
patron on June 13. The Novena to Our Lady of Valankani in September is also
heavily attended by people from all over Karachi.
The Fete after the Patronal Feast draws large crowds and affords an opportunity
to the parishioners not only to meet and greet friends but also raises funds
for the many charitable undertakings of the parish.
The parish also caters to the needs of new communities and Masses are said by
the priests of St. Anthony’s in the newly constructed premises of the
Presbytery House, ( in Civil Lines) Stella Maris ( old Clifton) and Shirin
Jinnah Colony ( near the Boating basin).
The parish is also home to a number of religious communities such as the
Congregation of Jesus and Mary (RJM), Sisters of the Good Shepard (RGS) and the
Daughters of the Cross (FC).
Today, St. Anthony’s parish is one of the most vibrant parishes of the
Archdiocese of Karachi and is growing from strength to strength, not only in
numbers but also in faith.
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