St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic

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...

 Archdiocese of Karachi, is situated on Shahrah-e-Iraq, formerly known as Clarke Street, located near the Empress Market

Empress Market

The Empress Market is a famous marketplace situated in the Saddar Town locality of Karachi, Pakistan. The market traces its origins to the British Raj era, when it was first constructed. Today, it is amongst the most popular and busy places for shopping in Karachi and reflects as one of the few...

 in Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, 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 first church in Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 (except for possibly one in Thatta

Thatta

Thatta is a historic town of 220,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments especially its necropolis at Makli are listed among the World Heritage Sites. The Shah Jahan Mosque is also listed...

) was initially built on the grounds of this cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 in 1845, and was called St. Patrick’s Church. It was in April 1881 that the present cathedral was opened, since the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 community grew in number, and the need for a larger place of worship became apparent. Despite the construction of the new building, the little church continued to function until it was destroyed by a storm in 1885.

The present-day cathedral is built in Gothic

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 style; it measures 52 metres by 22 metres, and has the capacity to accommodate at least 1,500 worshippers at the same time. It was designed by three members of the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

: Father Wagner, Brother Kluver and Brother Lau.

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

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

 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

Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

 are seen to the best advantage. The whole interior is painted in oil and the windows are all of stained glass

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

, the members of the congregation."

In 1978 the cathedral celebrated its centenary. The Pakistan Post Office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 issued special commorative stamps on the occasion. Pope John Paul I

Pope John Paul I

John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...

 sent special greetings and blessings on the occasion.

A bomb exploded inside the Cathedral causing an injury and destruction. The explosion on December 22, 1998, occurred minutes after the congregation celebrated Mass. 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.

The cathedral's grounds are adorned with a marble Monument to Christ the King

Monument to Christ the King

The Monument to Christ the King is a white marble structure in the grounds of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi, Pakistan.This monument stands overlooking one of the busiest streets of Karachi – Clarke Street. The idea for this 54 feet high architectural beauty emerged in 1926. It is the only...

, which was constructed in 1931 to commemorate the memory of the Jesuit Mission in Sindh. The Parish Priest in 1999 was Father Edward Joseph.

In 2003, the cathedral was declared as a protected monument because of its outstanding architectural beauty under the Sindh Cultural Heritage Protection Act. The Parish Priest at the time was Fr. Joseph D’Mello.

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

Edgar Peña Parra

*...

 blessed St. Peter’s Church, Karachi

St. Peter’s Church, Karachi

St. Peter’s Church, Karachi, is the largest Catholic church in Pakistan.The Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra blessed the church at a Mass concelebrated by 37 priests from around the country...

, now the largest Catholic church in Pakistan. It can seat 5,000 people.