Lawrence_John_Saldanha
Lawrence Saldanha
Indian-born Pakistani archbishop
Lawrence John Saldanha (born 12 June 1936) is an Indian-born retired Pakistani archbishop. Born in Mangalore, India, he received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan on 16 January 1960.
 |
His Grace Lawrence John Saldanha | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop Emeritus of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| See | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore |
| In office | 2001–2011 |
| Predecessor | Armando Trindade † |
| Successor | Sebastian Francis Shaw OFM |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 16 January 1960 |
| Consecration | 11 September 2001 by Archbishop Simeon Anthony Pereira † Bishop Anthony Lobo † Bishop Andrew Francis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1936-06-12) 12 June 1936 (age 87) |
| Previous post(s) | Priest |
| Alma mater | Christ the King Seminary, Karachi |
| Motto | Heralds of Hope |
He also earned a doctorate in systematic theology from Rome-based Pontifical Urbaniana University. He participated in the Second Vatican Council.[1]
He served in different parishes in Lahore. He served from 1971 to 1974 as editor of the Catholic Naqib, the Archdiocese's Urdu bimonthly.[1] He was also rector of Christ the King Seminary in Karachi from 1974 to 1979 and taught dogmatic theology there until 1983.[2]
From 1986 to 1998, he was head of the social communications commission and WAVE Studio, the Church's national audiovisual center in Lahore. He also headed the UCA News bureau in Pakistan. [3]
He was serving as associate pastor of Precious Blood Church in Toronto, Canada, when he was recalled to serve the Church in Pakistan.[1] On 24 Apr 2001 he was appointed Archbishop of Lahore by Pope John Paul II. He took as his motto Heralds of Hope.[4]
On 16 January 2010, Archbishop Saldanha celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a priest, of serving his church for 50 years.[5]
On 7 April 2011 Archbishop Saldanha retired as Archbishop of Lahore.[6]
Saldanha also served as the first executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan from 1966 to 1973, chairman of Radio Veritas Asia, and president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.[7]
He returned to Canada after his retirement in 2011 and is helping persecuted Pakistani Christians in Canada.[8]
In 2016 Saldanha became a Canadian citizen.[9]
On January 16, 2020, he celebrated his 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination at Precious Blood Parish in Toronto, Canada.[10]
- "Archdiocese of Lahore". Catholic Hierarchy. 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2007.
- Daily Times, 23 January 2006
- Archdiocese of Lahore
- Agenzia Fides 14/05/2004
- BBC News, 2 November 2006
- McDermott, Terry (1 October 2013). "Interview with Pakistan Archbishop Emeritus Lawrence Saldanha". Catholic Insight. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- AD 2000 March 2010 Archived 15 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- "Vatican Radio 7/04/2011". Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- "Church bids farewell to former head - UCA News". ucanews.com.
- Service, Catholic News. "After 60 years, zeal for justice remains". www.catholicregister.org.