LAHORE CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL CENTENARY

1907-2007

BULLETIN No. 2                   Dated: 15th August 2006

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord God of hosts”  (Psalm 83, 1)

Dear Friends and Well wishers of the Cathedral,

As we prepare for the centenary of our beautiful Cathedral, we must admire the zeal and courage of its founder, BISHOP GODFREY PELCKMANS. In 1893 he took charge as the third Bishop of Lahore at the young age of 39. He felt that in this city of grand mosques and temples, there should a fitting and worthy place for the celebration of the Christian liturgy. He commissioned a Belgian designer, Mr. Dubbeleere of Antwerp to draw up the plans. For his splendid Roman Byzantine design, Mr. Dubbeleere was later awarded the Prize of Rome.

Bishop Pelckmans gathered money from benefactors in Belgium and bought the land in a prominent place in the heart of the city. The building was started in 1902 and he had the joy of blessing the foundation stone on 4th October 1903. But he was not destined to see his dream becomes a reality. He passed away on 3rd August 1904.  He lies buried in the crypt of his beloved Cathedral, which stands as a visible monument to his vision and genius. A special brass plaque will be erected in his memory on the occasion of the centenary celebrations.

My visit to Canada and USA in June 2006 was a good occasion to make timely contact with former parishioners of Lahore and explain to them about the coming jubilee. A keen interest was shown and many generously pledged contributions towards the old church that held so many dear memories for them. A few even expressed their desire to attend the celebrations next year. Of course, they would be very welcome.

Our Centenary Committee has met four times. I am glad to share with you some news of progress in the Centenary celebrations:

  1. CALENDAR OF EVENTS: A tentative program of events has been drawn up. The opening event on 26 November will be a memorable procession from the former Cathedral of Anarkali to the new Cathedral.

During the coming year, each parish has been assigned a day on which they will make a pilgrimage to the mother church. A structured program of one and a half hour duration has been outlined.

Pilgrimages of different categories of persons have also been catered for, namely pilgrimages of children, youth, women, sick, medical persons, catechists, teachers, etc.

We hope this Calendar of Events will be finalized by October this year.

  1. LOGO: This has been designed with the slogan “A GRACE REMEMBERED, A

HOPE RENEWED”. It will be printed on the calendar and on different banners and posters.

  1. CALENDAR 2007: A four-page Calendar is in the press and should be ready by the end of August. It will be in Urdu because it is meant for distribution at the grand Marian Festival (Ziarat) at Mariamabad (80 km from Lahore) on September 8 - 10, 2006. An English version will come out soon after. It is bound to be a collector’s item because it will give interesting historical information about the original builders and will be a fitting tribute to them.
  1. MUSEUM: We are happy to report that this is taking shape at the entrance of the Cathedral, on the right hand side. The glass showcases have been fixed on the wall. We intend to have it opened by November. We are grateful to Fr. Kamiel Teuns, Mission Secretary in Antwerp, for providing us with some rare photographs of the construction work. They will be displayed in the museum.

Once again, I appeal to priests and parishioners for any group photos or other items that might be used as an exhibit in our museum  

  1. BROCHURE: I am sorry to say that there is no progress in this venture. My last appeal for people to write their memories have failed to evoke any response. As usual, people are reluctant to put their thoughts on paper.
  1. FUND RAISING: We are in the process of setting up a Trust Fund with its own special bank account. More about that in the next bulletin, which is due to appear in early November.

Meanwhile we appeal to all friends and former parishioners to generously support our efforts to celebrate the Jubilee in a fitting manner. In Canada, they can contact and work through Ms. Zelma Pereira - E Mail: zpereira@remotetek.com

In USA, Mr. Quinton Correa is designated to coordinate the fund raising and inform you about tax deduction possibilities. His E Mail: qcorrea@sbcglobal.net

With every good wish and blessing,

Yours devotedly in Christ,

 

† Lawrence Saldanha

Archbishop of Lahore