The Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan (Lat: Dioecesis Multanensis) is a diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 in Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

The diocese is located in the southern Punjab

Punjab (Pakistan)

Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...

 in a central part of Pakistan. The total population of the diocese is about 7.5 million, out of which Christians are about 200,000. The diocese of Multan covers an area of 100,705 km² and comprises the following civil boundaries. The whole of Multan Division

Multan Division

Multan Division was an administrative division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government.-History:Multan Division was created during British Rule in the subcontinent...

 and district of Multan

Multan District

Multan District is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 3,116,851 of which 41.64% were urban. Its capital is the city of Multan....

, Vihari and hanewal

Khanewal District

Khanewal is District of Punjab province in Pakistan. It most widely known for being the host city to the second largest Train Station in Pakistan...

. In the Bahawalpur Division

Bahawalpur Division

Bahawalpur Division was an administrative division of the Punjab Province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government....

, the district of Bahawalnagar

Bahawalnagar District

Bahawalnagar District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. The district is situated on the border, before the independence of Pakistan, Bahawal Nagar was a part of Bahawalpur state governed by the Nawab of Bahawalpur...

, Lodhran

Lodhran District

Lodhran is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan, located on the northern side of River Sutlej. It is bounded to the north by the districts of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari, to the south by Bahawalpur District, to the east lie the districts of Vehari and Bahawalpur; while district Multan lies on the...

 and Rahim Yar Khan. In the Dera Ghazi Khan Division

Dera Ghazi Khan Division

Dera Ghazi Khan Division was an administrative division of the Punjab province of Pakistan, until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government. During British rule Dera Ghazi Khan Division was a district of Multan Division, after independence from Britain Dera Ghazi Khan was made into...

 the districts of Dera Ghazi Khan

Dera Ghazi Khan District

Dera Ghazi Khan is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The district covers an area of 5,306 m² and it is a long narrow strip of country, 198 m...

, Muzaffargarh

Muzaffargarh District

Muzaffargarh is a district in the south of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is part of Saraiki Waseb. It is spread over an area of 8,249 km². Muzaffargarh District lies in the strip between the rivers Chenab and Indus, which pass along the Eastern and Western boundaries respectively of...

, Layyah

Layyah District

Layyah District is a district in the Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of the province. The capital is Layyah.-History:...

 and Rajanpur

Rajanpur District

Rajanpur District is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 1,103,618 of which 14.27% were urban. Its administrative centre is the town of Rajanpur.-History & geography:...

.

In 1936 some adjacent districts of Multan and the State of Bahawalpur were detached from Lahore

Lahore

Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

 to form the prefecture Apostolic of Multan. In 1939 this area was detached from Lahore to become a separate diocese. In 1960 the diocese was divided and Bishop Cialeo moved to Faislabad as the first bishop of the newly erected diocese of Faisalabad. Bishop Louis Scheerer OP was appointed the second bishop of Multan. In 1966 Bishop Louis Scheerer died and Bertrand Boland OP became the Bishop of Multan diocese. In 1984 Bishop Boland retired and handed over to his auxiliary Bishop Patras Yusaf

Patras Yusaf

Patras Yusaf was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan from 1984 until his death in 1998.Yusaf was born in Francisabad, Pakistan on 29 July 1936. He received his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary and was ordained a priest on 29 December 1965.He was appointed as vicar...

. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Lahore

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore is an archdiocese in Punjab, Pakistan.-History:It was founded as a diocese on 1 September 1886, having previously been the Vicariate of Punjab. On 23 April 1994 the diocese was elevated to the rank of Archdiocese. Fr...

.

The Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer

Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer

The Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer is the main church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan, Pakistan. Father Shahzad Niamat was the cathedral parish priest, and Father Shakeel John the assistant in 2008....

 is the main church of the Diocese.

The diocese is also home to the Pastoral Institute of Multan

Pastoral Institute of Multan

The Pastoral Institute of Multan, Pakistan, is aimed at aiding the local church grow into a church of witness and mission.The objective is to aid the lay person to witness to Gospel values, be formative in the faith and an agent of change....

 which serves the Church at a national level.

On 3 October 1989, Pope John Paul II sent congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the diocese. The diocese had 10 parishes with about 50,000 Catholics at the time. By June 2008, this had grown to 18 parishes.

On September 17, 1998, Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 appointed Father Raymond Saeed

Raymond Saeed

Pope John Paul II appointed Father Raymond Saeed apostolic administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan in Pakistan. Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, then a monsignor and the acting chargé d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature in Islamabad, announced that Archbishop Renzo Fratini had...

 apostolic administrator for the Diocese.

On January 10, 2000, the Holy father Pope John Paul II proclaimed Fr. Andrew Francis

Andrew Francis

Andrew Francis is an actor and voice artist from Vancouver, British Columbia. He has appeared in many television shows including Poltergeist, Dark Angel, Twilight Zone, The L Word, Smallville and Kyle XY...

 from the Archdiocese of Lahore as the new bishop.

On October 29, 2001 four gunmen entered St. Dominic’s Church, Bahawalpur

St. Dominic’s Church, Bahawalpur

St. Dominic’s Church, Bahawalpur is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan in Pakistan. On October 28, 2001 four gunmen entered the Church and opened fire and mercilessly killed 15 worshippers and a police guard....

 in the Diocese and opened fire and mercilessly killed 15 worshippers and a police guard.

On 29 April 2010 Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

 elevated the Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta

Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta

The Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta was established on November 9, 2001 from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi...

 to the rank of apostolic vicariate. He appointed Fr. Victor Gnanapragasam

Victor Gnanapragasam

Father Victor Gnanapragasam OMI is the first prefect of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.-Early life and education:He was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka to Sri Lankan Tamil family...

 OMI as apostolic vicar of the new ecclesiastical circumscription and the titular bishop of Timida. Fr. Victor was parish priest at Khanewal in the Multan Diocese from 1979-1985.

Ordinaries

• Francesco Benedetto Cialeo, O.P. † (15 Jan 1937 Appointed - 13 Apr 1960 Appointed, Bishop of Lyallpur)
• Aloysius Louis Scheerer, O.P. † (13 Apr 1960 Appointed - 27 Jan 1966 Died)
• Ernest Bertrand Boland, O.P. (17 May 1966 Appointed - 20 Oct 1984 Resigned)
• Patras Yusaf
  Patras Yusaf
  Patras Yusaf was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Multan from 1984 until his death in 1998.Yusaf was born in Francisabad, Pakistan on 29 July 1936. He received his religious training at the Christ the King Seminary and was ordained a priest on 29 December 1965.He was appointed as vicar...
  
  † (20 Oct 1984 Appointed - 29 Dec 1998 Died)
• Andrew Francis (3 Dec 1999 Appointed - )

Schools

St Albans High School, Multan

La Salle Higher Secondary School

St Mary's Higher Secondary School

Sacred Heart Girls High School