Evarist Pinto

Last updated

His Grace

Evarist Pinto
Archbishop Emeritus of Karachi
Church Roman Catholic Church
See Karachi
In office2004 2012
Predecessor Simeon Anthony Pereira
Successor Joseph Coutts
Orders
Ordination6 January 1968
by  Joseph Cordeiro
Consecration25 April 2000
by Alessandro D´Errico
RankArchbishop
Personal details
Born (1933-12-31) 31 December 1933 (age 89)
Nationality Pakistani
Previous post(s)Archbishop of Karachi

Evarist Pinto (born 31 December 1933 in Goa, Portuguese India) is the former archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan. [1]

Contents

Education

He was educated at St. Thomas High School, Goa, India. [2] In 1960 he started studying for priesthood at the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Quetta. He continued his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary in Karachi, where he was ordained a priest on 6 January 1968. [3] He is fluent in 10 languages including English, Urdu, Punjabi, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, German, French and Konkani. [4]

Career

Father Pinto taught Sacred Scripture at Christ the King Seminary and from 1987 to 1993 [2] was pastor of St. Lawrence’s Church, Karachi. [5]

He obtained a doctorate in biblical theology at the Urbanian University, Rome, and a master's degree in sacred scripture at the "Biblicum". On 17 February 2000 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Karachi by Pope John Paul II. He became Archbishop of Karachi on 5 January 2004 on the retirement of the incumbent Archbishop Simeon Anthony Pereira. The seat of the Archdiocese of Karachi is at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi. [6] He selected as his motto "Preach the Good News to the Poor". [7]

On 30 April 2006 the Archdiocese attended the first-ever Catholic film screened in Pakistan. It was presented as "a historical moment" to the 450 guests at the premier of Muhjza [Miracle], held in St Paul's Parish, Azam Basti. [8]

In April 2008 Pinto performed the groundbreaking on the 2,044 square meter site of the new St. Pius X Minor Seminary. [9]

The 12th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops took place in Rome from 5–26 October 2008. Archbishop Pinto represented the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan at the Synod. [10]

In July 2011, Pinto attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the new St. John Marie Vianney Church in St Paul's Parish, Azam Basti. The Archdiocese plans to construct five new Churches in 2011. [11]

On 25 January 2012, Archbishop Pinto resigned after reaching the age of 75. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad as his replacement. [12]

Post-retirement

After retirement Pinto spends much of his time writing books on Catholicism. He is the author of 31 books in English and many of these have been translated into Urdu. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Pakistan</span>

The Catholic Church in Pakistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Cordeiro</span>

Joseph Marie Anthony Cordeiro was the first Pakistani cardinal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in India

The Archdiocese of Karachi is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected on 20 May 1948 under as a then-suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Bombay.

The Christ the King Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi, Pakistan; located in adjacent to the Portiuncula Friary. In its early years most of the faculty were provided by the Franciscans. It has been described as "the pioneering theological institution for the Catholic Church in Pakistan."

Lawrence John Saldanha is an Indian-born retired Pakistani archbishop. Born in Mangalore, India, he received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan on 16 January 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore</span> Roman Catholic archdiocese in Pakistan

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The Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference (PCBC) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic bishops of Pakistan. Its objectives are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of issues affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in all matters concerning the Church in Pakistan.

John Berchmans Conway, R.J.M., usually known as Sister Berchmans, was an Irish Roman Catholic religious sister and teacher who worked in Pakistan for 60 years. In 2012 she was decorated by the Government of Pakistan for her services in education and promoting interfaith harmony.

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References

  1. UCANews February 8, 2018
  2. 1 2 3 Gulzar, Ayyaz (30 January 2018). "A dedicated priest in any language". La Croix International . Bayard. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  3. "Archdiocese of Karachi". Catholic Hierarchy . Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  4. "Archdiocese of Karachi". UCA News . 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
  5. "UCANews.com January 20, 1988".[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "KARACHI: New archbishop of Karachi". Dawn . 8 January 2004. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  7. "Karachi's new auxiliary Bishop aims to preach good news to the poor". UCANews . 27 April 2000. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  8. "Pakistan screens first-ever Catholic film; plans made to realize Catholic TV, radio". Catholic News Agency . 1 May 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  9. "Growing Vocations Boost Plan to Switch Minor Seminary". UCANews.com . 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013.
  10. "Synod". Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan . 31 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  11. Gulzar, Ayyaz (27 July 2011). "More churches accommodate faithful". UCANews . Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  12. "Pope names new archbishop of Karachi". UCANews . 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2019.