Dear Mike - Wonderful write-up and thanks for taking the time to write it. Brings back a lot of great memories. Best wishes. W
________________________________ From: Michael Ali <[email protected]> To: Laurentians <[email protected]>; Fatiam Parish <[email protected]>; "[email protected]" <[email protected]>; Catholic Goan Network <[email protected]>; Goanet <[email protected]>; Karachi Anthonians <[email protected]>; Karachi Patricians <[email protected]>; Karachi Catholics Worldwide <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 10:49 AM Subject: FCCHS_LIVES - Christ, the King Procession in Karachi Christ, the King Procession in Karachi By Michael Ali The Feast of Christ the King, also known as the Solemnity of Christ the King, was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Quas Primas and the date was fixed as the last Sunday in October that is the Sunday preceding the feat of All Saints. ( In 1969, the date was moved by Pope Paul VI to the last Sunday of the liturgical year which is in Novemeber). The Pope in all his wisdom issued this encyclical in response to the growing nationalism and secularism around the world which was greatly affecting Catholic beliefs and practices. History of the procession Rev. Fr. Vincent Gimenez, S.J. was the Vicar Forane of Sind and Baluchistan and Parish Priest of St. Patrick’s. He lost no time and with the willing enthusiasm of his parishioners and those living outside Karachi resolved to have a grand procession through the streets in the vicinity of the church to mark the occasion. At that time, besides St. Patrick’s, the only other parish in Karachi was the Sacred Heart parish at Keamari. In this regard he contacted all the parish groups and formed several standing committees such as the Procession Committee, Street Decoration Committee, First Aid Committee, Traffic and Security Committee etc. Their job was to ensure that this was the biggest public event on the annual calendar of the church. Thus in 1926, the first procession was held with great pomp and show. The route of the procession (which changed over the years but initially) was Clarke Street, Elphinstone Street, Frere Street, Wellington Street, Napier Street, Inverarity Road, Mansfield Street and back to the church ( later Cathedral) via Clarke Street. It is believed that the procession was limited to the church grounds during World War II (1939-45). Preparation of the Route of the Procession On the day of the procession Catholic Karachi was en fete. Almost every family made preparations to participate and families along the route made hectic efforts to decorate the homes, especially their balconies with chillie bulbs ( as they were commonly referred to then), flowers, bunting and large hand-made embroidered or painted altar-cloths portraying the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Every catholic house had some display. Buildings which were all Catholic made one big alter on the pavement in front of the building. The whole afternoon people were busy outside. The roads too were festooned with streamers, flowers, multi-colored-lights and large sized posters, paintings and statues of Saints and Biblical personages. At the crack of dawn the personnel of the Municipality, under the supervision of many Catholic officers ensured the cleanliness of the entire area. Likewise, the Police department also deputed extra staff not only to control traffic but also to make sure no untoward incident took place. A few days before the grand event, the fire-brigade washed the monument and left it sparklingly clean. The tram service on Frere Street was suspended during the time the procession was on this street. Marshalls of the processions also took up their posts along the routes to maintain discipline. Likewise, Marshalls were also deputed to walk along the various groups on either side of the participants. No one was allowed to join the procession in between. Those desiring to join the procession had to be in their group or organization well before the departure of the procession and various spaces in the church grounds were allotted to each group. The Procession The head of the procession left the church grounds at about 5 p.m. lead by the Cadets ( scouts in later years) of St. Patrick’s High School, followed by the marching brass Band of the Catholic Boys Brigade (later the School Band), looking resplendent in their white uniforms. The band played Marches and tunes such as ‘We Stand for God’, ‘Soul of my Savior’ etc. Following them were the First Holy Communicants of that year who had received the Body of the Lord just a couple of weeks earlier. The little girls had baskets of rose petals which they threw in the air as they walked along. They were followed by individuals dressed up as the virtues, saints and Biblical personalities. Joseph Cordeiro ( later Cardinal) played the part of John, the Baptist and Francis de Souza ( now Rev. Fr.) was St. John de Britto. They were followed by the Ordinary ( later Archbishop) carrying the Monstrance under a red canopy held aloft by four persons dressed in dark suits. The Ordinary was relieved from time to time by senior priests who then rode on the float that followed. A well decorated motorized float bearing a variety of people over the 41 year history of this event followed next. Usually, a person reciting the rosary, between interludes of the band was atop the float which was wired for sound. The next group were the nuns and clergy and parish groups, in no particular order, such as the Men’s Sodality, Women Sodality, Young Men’s Sodality, Young Women’s Sodality, Boys’ Sodality, Girls’ Sodality. Apostleship of prayer, Students Missionary League (SML), Parishioners of St. Patrick’s, Sacred Heart, Concanim Branch, Tamil Branch and Hindustani Branch. The last and most interesting group was the ‘Pius Non-Catholic’ group which comprised of non-Catholic Christians, Parsis, Hindus and a few Muslim ( before partition). Along the route, thousands of people, including the sick and infirm Catholics and late comers lined the streets and many bowed their heads in reverence when the Blessed Sacrament passed by. The Procession returned to the Church grounds and re-occupied their pre-allotted places while the Ordinary along with the clergy commenced the solemn Benediction imploring the Lord to shower His Blessings of the faithful. After, 1931, the Benediction took place at the newly constructed monument. Epilogue The Christ, the King procession which started in Karachi in 1926 was held continuously with some adjustments in its route, for a period of 41 years. However, after a decision of the Hierarchy, 46 years ago this glorious chapter of Catholic Karachi came to an end in 1967 due to several reasons including the heavy flow of traffic in the Saddar area and the indiscipline which was overtaking the general populace of the city. ( This article is based on the pre and early teen memories of the author and conversations with senior members of the clergy including Fr. Robbie D’Silva, Fr. Canise Mascarenhas, Fr. Gasper Mendes and Fr. Melito Dias for which the author is sincerely grateful). __._,_.___ Reply via web post Reply to sender Reply to group Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: Visit Your Group Friends, Residents and past residents of FCCHS Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use • Send us Feedback . __,_._,___
