St. Francis Xavier Catholic Churchسینٹ فرانسس زیویئر کیتھولک چرچ

I love the fact that my house is in an area where there is a catholic church, and I don’t have to travel out of the area. There is a church within walking distance of my home and all of our relatives reside nearby as well. I really like Qayyumabad because whenever I go through an obstacle or need something, everything is available within the reach of a few footsteps. With this reach, I can help out my relatives, and pursue anything that needs to be done through the nearby church.

Regarding the church, I would recall going to the Sunday school as a core memory. All of us essentially did attend it and the church was very pivotal to have been placed in our area. Just like we have spent our childhoods in connection with the church, it would benefit the coming generations as well. The relations between academic and religious studies will be strengthened through this process. Our church in Qayyumabad has been an important structure because all generations of our kids will have their faiths emboldened and they will learn more about their daily societal lives as a community too. Hence, personally I would want our coming kids to take spiritual initiatives and be involved with the church, just like we and those before us did so readily. However, this is only possible if such facilities are available near your doorstep.

I have lived 24 years in Qayyumabad. My favorite memory of this place is also a nearby spot, a street near my house which was beautifully decorated by the whole street, in commemoration of Christmas. Every year, the people of the street would have a new theme for the decorations, which was a fascinating phenomenon on its own. These festivities and ornaments filled my heart with joy, because my house was situated in this street. All the people from other streets would gather round this meticulously designed street, and observe it in all its colors and festive warmth, which made it a very coveted and cherished place.

More of my favorite memories have taken place in the A Area ARP church road, which was also decorated in our childhoods. The lane would get popular because of the fun rides it offered. Whenever we got Eidi on our Christmases and Easters, all of us cousins would splurge all of our collected holiday on these rides.

As time passed, it came to my attention that the enthusiasm and festive spirit in people has reduced. The festivities and decorations still take place, but the passion once vibrant in everyone, seems to be diminished over time. Partly due to the people getting so involved with survival. In conclusion, Christmas and Easter are very distant from what they used to be in our childhoods.

At that time, the choir of St. Francis Church mainly consisted of only three families who were active. One was Sir Safdar Sahib’s family, another was Murad Bhai’s family, including my sisters Tasleem, Naseem, and others. And then there was Nadeem Bhatti Sahib’s family, whose sisters Seraphine, Sonia, and others were also part of it. This photograph was taken during one of those events. I think it may have been during the Christmas season. It became a memorable picture showing everyone and what they were doing at the time. Because of this choir, God blessed us with great honor, so that when the Pope visited Pakistan in 1982, I was chosen from my diocese to be part of the choir for him. So I consider myself very fortunate that I was able to see Pope right in front of me and become part of that choir. Afterwards, all the choir members, whether from the English choir or the Urdu choir, were given memorable gold medals and recognitions from the Pope’s side. We also used to participate in many competitions, and the choir of St. Francis Xavier Church would almost always return victorious because it was such a strong choir in those days. At that time, all the families were closely connected. Everyone knew one another, and parents trusted us deeply. I remember parents telling their daughters, “Alright then, you’re going with Sir Safdar, so it’s fine.” Even if practice went on until three or four in the morning, there was never any concern. Murad Bhai himself would personally drop the girls home afterwards. So this was something really memorable for us and that feeling of trust was something very special. The priests also trusted us a great deal. In fact, sometimes Father Joe D’Mello would stop if the hymns were too long and say, “Alright, brother, stop here for now, I still have to continue my mass practice.” It was all part of a beautiful bond filled with love, warmth, discipline, and togetherness.

I was in Class 3 when I started going to the altar and reciting intentions. I’m talking about the 1990s, and if you’re referring to when I was in Class 3, then you could say it was the late 1980s.

At that time, Father Joe D’Mello used to be there. He was very strict. He wouldn’t let just anyone go onto the altar. They were very particular about how you should come, how your dupatta should be worn, and how your shirt should look. So initially, they only allowed us to be part of the intentions group and read intentions. Gradually, as we grew older, things changed. Then Father Nazar Nawab came, and Father Diego Saleh as well. There was also Master Javed Chiragh. They slowly started encouraging us and giving us more responsibilities, saying that now we were older and could do readings. So we began by doing small readings. After that, we joined the choir. We also took part in all the altar work and Sunday school activities. We used to do everything so happily, feeling excited that we had to do this and that. Our teachers would guide us and give us Bible verses to memorize. But our Holy Communion classes and Confirmation classes were taught in great detail. It was a very beautiful time, and it still is. Now, though, things have become much more advanced. Back then, we had our old church, and we ourselves used to decorate it. Then, after fifty years, we finally completed the construction of our church.