Evarist Pinto
Evarist Pinto (born 31 December 1933 in Goa, Portuguese India) is the former Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan.
His Grace Evarist Pinto | |
---|---|
Archbishop Emeritus of Karachi | |
Church | Roman Catholic Church |
See | Karachi |
In office | 2004 – 2012 |
Predecessor | Simeon Anthony Pereira |
Successor | Joseph Coutts |
Orders | |
Ordination | 6 January 1968 by Joseph Cordeiro |
Consecration | 25 April 2000 by Alessandro D´Errico |
Rank | Archbishop |
Personal details | |
Born | Goa, Portuguese India | 31 December 1933
Nationality | Pakistani |
Previous post | Archbishop of Karachi |
Education
He was educated at St. Thomas High School, Goa, [1] and received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi, where he was ordained a priest on 6 January 1968.[2] He is fluent in 10 languages including English, Urdu, Punjabi, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian, German, French and Konkani.[3]
Career
Father Pinto taught Sacred Scripture at Christ the King Seminary and from 1987 to 1993[1] was pastor of St. Lawrence’s Church, Karachi.[4]
He obtained a doctorate in biblical theology at the Urbanian University, Rome, and a master's degree in sacred scripture at the "Biblicum". On 17 February 2000 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Karachi by Pope John Paul II. He became Archbishop of Karachi on 5 January 2004 on the retirement of the incumbent Archbishop Simeon Anthony Pereira. The seat of the Archdiocese of Karachi is at Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi.[5] He selected as his motto "Preach the Good News to the Poor".[6]
On 30 April 2006 the Archdiocese attended the first-ever Catholic film screened in Pakistan. It was presented as "a historical moment" to the 450 guests at the premier of Muhjza [Miracle], held in St Paul's Parish, Azam Basti.[7]
In April 2008 Pinto performed the groundbreaking on the 2,044 square meter site of the new St. Pius X Minor Seminary.[8]
The 12th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops took place in Rome from 5–26 October 2008. Archbishop Pinto represented the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan at the Synod.[9]
In July 2011, Pinto attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the new St. John Marie Vianney Church in St Paul's Parish, Azam Basti. The Archdiocese plans to construct five new Churches in 2011.[10]
On 25 January 2012, Archbishop Pinto resigned after reaching the age of 75. Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad as his replacement.[11]
Post-retirement
After retirement Pinto spends much of his time writing books on Catholicism. He is the author of 31 books in English and many of these have been translated into Urdu.[1]
References
- Gulzar, Ayyaz (30 January 2018). "A dedicated priest in any language". La Croix International. Bayard. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- "Archdiocese of Karachi". Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- "Archdiocese of Karachi". UCA News. 7 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- "UCANews.com January 20, 1988".
- "KARACHI: New archbishop of Karachi". Dawn. 8 January 2004. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "Karachi's new auxiliary Bishop aims to preach good news to the poor". UCANews. 27 April 2000. Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- "Pakistan screens first-ever Catholic film; plans made to realize Catholic TV, radio". Catholic News Agency. 1 May 2006. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- "Growing Vocations Boost Plan to Switch Minor Seminary". UCANews.com. 18 April 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013.
- "Synod". Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan. 31 January 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- Gulzar, Ayyaz (27 July 2011). "More churches accommodate faithful". UCANews. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- "Pope names new archbishop of Karachi". UCANews. 25 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2019.