A parish
founded thanks to the will - and funding - of Christians and Muslims in
Pakistan, is celebrating 25 years since its foundation.
To
commemorate the event, the faithful have contributed to the construction of a
small grotto in which to meet and pray. It
is the story of Arooj-e-Mariam (Our
Lady of the Assumption, ed), parish church in Chak district 7 in Faisalabad,
Punjab province, where there is a greatest presence of Christians in the
country. And
as pointed out by its first priest, present at the celebrations, it contains
"precious memories" to be delivered to future generations.
Interviewed by AsiaNews, Fr. Barnard,
the first pastor of Arooj-e-Mariam remembers drawing up "the gorund plans for
this church with a lot of passion," and the building was made possible
thanks "to the financial support of the Christian and Muslim
communities."
He
speaks of "many wonderful memories" related to the years in the
parish and does not hide his "great happiness for the celebrations for its
25th anniversary."
Happiness and satisfaction are also
expressed by Msgr. Rufin
Anhtony, bishop of Islamabad / Rawalpindi and apostolic administrator of
Faisalabad, about the time "of the true faith," despite "the
great difficulty" facing the country these days.
The
prelate said that "Jesus is among us, so we should not be afraid." Finally,
the call to "build more churches" and to pray to the Virgin Mary, who
played a "leading role" in the history of salvation.
Fr. Nisar
Barkat, current pastor, speaks of his profound "spiritual joy" and thanks
"almighty God and all the people" who "helped me to make this
parish so beautiful" and "build the grotto in the Church."
On 21 December, the eve of Christmas, a solemn mass was held at the
opening ceremony of the grotto, which was attended by hundreds of faithful.
Leading
the celebrations there was the bishop of Islamabad / Rawalpindi, joined by priests,
nuns and press who widely reported on the anniversary.
The
church was decorated with flowers, garlands, banners and balloons.
During Mass,
enhanced by the local choir, Msgr. Rufin
Anthony also bestowed the sacrament of Confirmation on a group of parishioners.