Pakistan Capuchins honour priests with requiem

(December 15, 2011) Capuchin friars on Wednesday celebrated a requiem Mass for two Belgian priests who helped establish the Church in the Punjab over the course of five decades. Archbishop Evarist Pinto of Karachi concelebrated Mass for Fathers John Bosco and Angelo Van Der Steen at Portiuncula Friary in Karachi. Both priests devoted half a decade to the Church in Pakistan and died of prolonged illnesses earlier this year. “We pay heartfelt gratitude for their missionary zeal and enthusiasm. Their work is now expanding. Both men were great preachers, deep in personal prayers, and influenced many,” the archbishop said in his homily. Fr Abid Habib, former president of the Major Superiors Leadership Conference of Pakistan, also praised the accomplishments of the two priests. “Locals loved the homilies of Fr John Bosco, who also helped and guided many foreigner missionaries to learn Urdu and Punjabi languages, as well as to hear vernacular confessions,” he said. “Both were great communicators and could convey long homilies despite old age. Nowadays people lose their concentration only after 10 minutes.” Fr Thomas Gulfam, the first Punjabi priest in Karachi archdiocese, said Fr Bosco was an inspiration to him in his vocation. “The congregation nowadays thinks about the personal lives of the priests while listening to the homilies. This has a lot to do with the spirituality of the sermon,” he said. There are now 11 Capuchin Friars students in the Karachi Friary and 20 perpetually professed Capuchins, including two foreigners, in the country.