Pope Francis appointed Father Yousaf Sohan as the Bishop of Multan, Pakistan, said a Vatican press release on December 9.
The 64-year old Bishop-elect Sohan is a priest of the diocese of Multan and, until now, parish priest of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer.
Catholics in Pakistan take the opportunity to congratulate him on his new appointment. May the good Lord lead him to tender the flock entrusted to his care.
Father Sohan has been vicar general of the same diocese.
He was born on September 2, 1958, in Layyaha, in the diocese of Multan. He attended Saint Mary’s Minor Seminary in Lahore and studied philosophy and theology at Christ the King Major Seminary in Karachi.
He was ordained a priest on July 3, 1985.
After ordination, he served as deputy parish priest of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer in Multan (1985–1986); parish priest of the Holy Eucharist in Mian Chanu and head of the La Salle School hostel (1986–1989); and deputy parish priest of Saint Joseph the Worker in Khanewal (1990–1991).
He then carried out specialized studies in biblical theology at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome (1991–1992), and went on to hold the offices of parish priest of Saint Peter in Vehari (1992–2000) and parish priest of Saint Joseph in Fatehpur (2001–2002).
Since 2002, he has been vicar general.
He was the parish priest of Saint Joseph the Worker in Khanewal (2002–2011), Our Lady of Loreto in Multan (2011–2014), the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer in Multan (2014–2016), and the Holy Cross in Rahim Yar Khan (2016–2018).
In addition, he has served as head of vocations at the diocesan level, chaplain for young people, director of diocesan Caritas, director of the Catechesis and Biblical Commissions, and the Commissions for Real Estate and Justice and Peace, and member of the National Marian Committee.
Since 2018 he has served as parish priest of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer, and teacher at Saint Joseph’s Minor Seminary in Multan.
According to Vatican Data 2019, the diocese has 3,00,500 Catholics distributed across 18 parishes.
The Multan Diocese was established on December 17, 1936. It is situated in the southern Punjab region of Pakistan's central region.
Pakistan is divided into two Archdioceses (Karachi and Lahore), four Dioceses (Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Islamabad-Rawalpindi, and Multan), and an Apostolic Vicariate (Quetta).
The country has a population of over 220 million people, with Christians constituting a minority.
According to the 2017 Census, Christianity is the third most popular religion in Pakistan, accounting for approximately 1.27% of the population. - With input from Fides New Agency
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