About Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Karachi, Pakistan:
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi.
The first church, called St. Patrick’s Church, was built on the grounds of the cathedral in 1845 as a Carmelite mission under the leadership of Karachi’s first Carmelite priest, Father Casaboch. As the Catholic population of the city grew, the city’s Catholics raised money for construction of a new church. Groundbreaking was done in 1878, and the church was consecrated on April 24, 1881. Despite the construction of the new building, the little church continued to function until it was destroyed by a storm in 1885.
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral was completed in 1881, and can accommodate 1,500 worshipers. The present-day cathedral is built in Gothic Revival architecture; it measures 170 feet (52 meters) by 72 feet (22 meters), and has the capacity to accommodate at least 1,500 worshippers at the same time.
It was designed and realized by three members of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits): the architect was Father Karl Wagner, SJ and the construction was supervised by the lay Brothers George Kluver, SJ and Herman Lau, SJ.
The Cathedral’s stained-glass windows were produced by Franz Mayer of Munich, Germany.
At the front of the cathedral, there is the Monument to Christ the King, built between 1926 and 1931 to commemorate the Jesuit mission in the province of Sindh.
The Gazetteer of the Province of Sindh provides a description of the cathedral:
“Its exterior is not ornamental, though striking from a distance, but money and art have been lavished on the interior. The chancel, itself spacious, acquires a special impressiveness but its additional height, while the noble contours of the aspiring altar are seen to the best advantage. The whole interior is painted in oil and the windows are all of stained glass, donated by the members of the congregation.”
In 1978 the cathedral celebrated its centenary. The Pakistan Post Office issued special commemorative stamps on the occasion. Pope John Paul I sent special greetings and blessings on the occasion.
In November 1991 the cathedral was visited by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Cardinal Joseph Cordeiro of Karachi also spoke on the occasion.
On December 22, 1998 a bomb exploded inside the Cathedral causing an injury and destruction. The explosion occurred minutes after the conclusion of the Mass. Fortunately, most people had departed when the bomb went off. One woman was wounded and there was partial damage to the interior of the 120-year-old Cathedral.
In 2003 the cathedral was declared as a protected monument because of its outstanding architectural beauty under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act.
The Cathedral, with a seating capacity of 2,000, used to be the biggest Catholic church in the country. On 9 November 2011 the apostolic nuncio to Pakistan Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra blessed St. Peter’s Church, Karachi, which is now the largest Catholic church in Pakistan. It can seat 5,000 people.
In December 2018, the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the cathedral was led by the Archbishop of Karachi Joseph Cardinal Coutts. He also launched the book St Patrick’s: A Journey of 175 Years by Goretti and Michael Ali, written specially for the occasion.
Traveling to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Karachi, Pakistan:
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral is located near the Empress Market in the Saddar locality in central Karachi.