Lahore: November 21, 2012. (Fr. Inayat Bernard) “It is great day for all of us to thank the Lord who has given us he graces to be his evangelizers.” These were the opening words of the apostolic administrator of Lahore Archdiocese Bishop Sebastian Francis Shaw OFM who was talking to faithful gathered at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on the 17th of November,2012 to celebrate the 125 years’ jubilee of the Archdiocese of Lahore. He continued to thank the Lord that in 1886 Lahore was given the status of independent diocese after separating from Agra Archdiocese in the Sub-Continent. The missionaries before and after the creation of the diocese left their respective countries and came to our motherland to spread the message of Jesus Christ and serve the whole humanity in our region. Among the missionaries I would like to make a special mention of the Belgian Capuchins who took the lead in 1888 from the Italian Capuchins and have spent their lives here. He said that we pray for all the former Bishops from the creation of the diocese in 1886 that through their dedicated leadership we have reached at this point when the local church has been entrusted the pastoral responsibilities. He made s special mention of the 2 new priests who were ordained on the 16th of November 2012 and two other deacons were present in the closing ceremony of the great Jubilee. In the presence of donors Babra from Missio Munchen and Mathias from Mission Aachen along with Magdaline and her two companions Bishop Sebastian further said that while appreciating the Belgian and the local Capuchins we thank all the 21 Congregations of Sisters and 9 different Orders who are serving in the Archdiocese in different fields of life. We congratulate all the congregations one by one and the orders along with the diocesan priests who continue their mission with dedication, commitment and love of God and humanity. He informed the congregation of 70 priests,200 sisters and other 1000 faithful that there are 200 catechists in the Archdiocese and he appreciates their services who have been guide and help to the missionaries to teach them the local language, the attitudes of people and journeying together at every step. He talked to the faithful that the Archdiocese has a great role to lead and play for the Catholics in Pakistan. The presence of the national institutions in Lahore; the heart of Pakistan is a challenge that a lot has still to be done in the fields of general and catechetical education, Justice and peace, Caritas, pastoral and social fields of life with the assurance of Jesus that he is with us till the end of the world. He concluded by saying that the missionaries have led us to this stage and they kept eh flag of Jesus up and now it is pour duty to continue the mission of Jesus for new evangelization we have to find out every way which can be used to make effort to reach out the message to the old and new Catholics and strengthen and support them not to be discouraged but have faith in the Lord in this year of Faith declared by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XI from 11th October 2012. Bishop Victor OMI, apostolic vicar of Quetta Diocese aid that he whole heartedly congratulates all present the 125 years’ jubilee of Lahore Archdiocese. He assured all the priests, sisters, catechists and the faithful for the Archdiocese of his prayers every day for the strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of his diocese he gave thanks to the lord for the blessings of God has showered upon the Archdiocese of Lahore. Bishop Max Rodriguez of Hyderabad diocese said that he was happy to be part of the celebrations to congratulate the faithful happy jubilee personally. He referred to the words of Mahatma Gandhi who had said he was impressed by the teachings of Christ but longed to see the Christian values in the Christians. Bishop Max stressed that all the faithful have to be the witness to the others at home and elsewhere which is very important in the year of the faith. Each person, he ended, has to be strong in his/her faith and be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. During the offertory the kids, young and old from 26 parishes of the Archdiocese came in front in order to present the picture of their parish church to Bishop Sebastian which were fixed on both sides of the main Altar of the Cathedral. The special awards were given to Bishops Max Rodriguez, Victor, Marie Cecil RJM (oldest and first congregation), Missio and Church in Need guests, Akram Masih Gill, the State Minister for National Harmony, to the relatives of Allama Paul Ernest (RIP) for the role in translation of the Catholic Bible and Babu Piran Ditta Raphael (RIP) for writing popular Marian hymns. While the other awards were announced for the 21 congregations working in the Archdiocese which will be given to them during the Christmas Millan party to be held on the 28th of December at St. Anthony’s High School, Lawrence Road, Lahore. The awards for the 9 Orders will be given to them also at the time of the Millan party. Introduction in English was read by Sr. Lilanti AC and Fr. Joseph Shahzad guided the Cathedral choir with the collaboration of the choir of Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary .The emcee was Fr. Francis Gulzar while announcements were made by Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap, Sr. Irene Steven RJM and Fr. Inayat Bernard. Catechist Augustien Peter was givne the honor to read the first reading while Sr.Ruksana OP read the second reading and the Gospel was read by Deacon Shakeep Luka. Fr. Andrew Nisari the vicar general of the Archdiocese thanked the guests and all present and prayed that all may be able to see more jubilees of the Archdiocese in the years to come. After the Solemn closing mass all the faithful gathered outside the cathedral near the Sacristy for the unveiling of the Jubilee monument by three bishops of Lahore, Hyderabad and Quetta with Akram Masih Gill. It was designed by Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap while the 8 feet cemented one was physically supervised by Irfan Barkat. After the ceremony on the sideline Akram Masih Gill said I take this opportunity to congratulate the Archdiocese of Lahore and wish them success in their mission for public service to the people of Pakistan. He further said that all religions teach us great values like tolerance, accommodation, co-existence, equality and respect for rights of other people. The underlining principle of religious philosophy is to create peaceful society leading towards greater nationhood. Akram Masih Gill said, “We are doing our best to promote peace and harmony in multi-cultural society of Pakistan. I hope our efforts will convey a clear message to the world of our harmonious relations towards different faiths, living peacefully in our homeland”. He ended by saying, “I am confident that forthcoming generations will also fulfill its duties and follow the footsteps of heir ancestors and preach the Word of God throughout the world in the name of his beloved Son and Our Lord Jesus Christ Amen”. Thus the three days celebrations came to an end, viz Photo Exhibition of the buildings of the Archdiocese on the 15th November, 2012, vigil with youth on the 16th December and the closing mass on the 17th November, 2012.