‘Rome of Pakistan’ celebrates 125 years of Catholic faith and witness

Silence settled over the cemetery of Khushpur, Pakistan’s largest Catholic village, a day before it burst into celebrations marking 125 years since it was founded.

Candles flickered and the parish priest sprinkled holy water on freshly tended graves on Feb. 8, leading prayers for the departed, including three of the village’s martyrs — a bishop, a federal minister, and a priest.

A banner on the graveyard wall declared: “On the 125th Jubilee of Khushpur — a legacy of faith, sacrifice, and service — dedicated to all the departed faithful.”

At the center lies the grave of Bishop John Joseph, who took his life in front of the courtroom on May 6, 1998, in protest against Pakistan’s harsh blasphemy laws that have long threatened the country’s tiny Christian minority of 1.37%.

While his body was interred beneath the Marian grotto at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Faisalabad, his blood-stained cassock was buried in the village cemetery.

“Our family wanted to bury him in the native village but the clergy wanted the grave in the cathedral. The grave was already dug. We then filled it with his personal belongings,” Larasib Joseph, nambardar (village chief) of Khushpur, told EWTN News on Feb. 18.

Joseph was only 10 years old when his grandfather, Bishop Joseph, took his life in front of the courthouse in Sahiwal near Faisalabad, protesting the death sentence of a Christian, Ayub Masih, under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

“We were shocked to the core. Our home was filled with visitors, including representatives of international media, at a time when there was only one state-run Pakistan Television in the pre-internet era,” he recalled, thanking the local Church for honoring the Joseph family with respect over the decades.

Beside the bishop’s grave lies Father George Ibrahim, shot dead while sleeping in the courtyard of his residence in Renala Khurd in July 2003.

The most visited grave, however, is that of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Khushpur-born federal minister for minority affairs, assassinated in 2011 after calling for reform of the country’s blasphemy laws to protect innocent Christians.

Father Pervez Emmanuel, cousin of Bhatti, was among 10 priests who concelebrated the Feb. 9 jubilee closing Mass led by Bishop Joseph Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad.

“We are thankful to Bishop John Joseph and other writers, poets, and journalists who made this soil eternal. We thank the children whose vocation made it the Rome of Pakistan,” Rehmat said, addressing the crowded compound of St. Fidelis Catholic Church. “Many social workers are emerging who want to turn darkness, injustice, and violence into light, and transform generations from negative activities.”

Interfaith ties and a founder honored

Local Muslims joined the celebrations as an imam placed a garland around the neck of Rehmat, who blessed a memorial plaque naming the central square “Father Felix Chowk” after Father Felix Fink Henricus, the Belgian Capuchin who founded the village.

Speakers also paid tribute to Khushpur as the “land of the martyrs,” referring to Joseph, Bhatti, and Ibrahim, whose death anniversaries are annually observed at the cathedral.

Khushpur, which literally translates as “land of happiness,” has a population of 6,650, most of them Catholics. It has produced two bishops, more than 60 priests, over 200 nuns serving in Faisalabad and other dioceses, and at least 250 former and current catechists.

For the Feb. 9 jubilee closing celebrations, each of the 24 mud lanes was decorated with banners and swept clean, while schoolchildren scattered rose petals to the beat of dhol drums as the procession entered the church grounds.

An inspired legacy

While not yet officially recognized as martyrs by the Church, Emmanuel said their witness brought popularity and strength to the village, already famous for its street decoration competition during the annual Christ the King procession held on the last Sunday of October.

“Bishop John was a public bishop who reached families trapped in false blasphemy cases. He gave the ultimate sacrifice and exposed the misuse of these laws to the world — a sword of Damocles for minorities, especially Christians,” he said.

“Similarly, Shahbaz Bhatti’s funeral blocked traffic for hours in the village. He tried to change the blasphemy laws, but his voice was silenced. Photos of Bishop John hang in Christian homes across Pakistan. They see him as a shepherd who laid down his life for his people. Their martyrdom shapes how we pray, how we endure, and how we hope.”

Inspired by the men locally honored as martyrs, Emmanuel founded “Friends of Farmers” in 2000 to prevent local Christian farmers from selling land affected by waterlogging and salinity to Muslim villagers.

So far, he has purchased 1,600 acres, building a stadium, a playground, and a small Eucalyptus forest.

In 2023, Paul Bhatti — brother of Shahbaz Bhatti — established a medical center in the village named after his slain brother with land purchased from Friends of Farmers.

In March 2025, Bishop Rehmat launched a farm restoration initiative in Khushpur, aimed at rehabilitating agricultural land through improved drainage, water treatment, and the introduction of salt-tolerant crops, with support from an award-winning agricultural and environmental expert.

Launched during the village’s 125th jubilee celebrations on Feb. 9, 2025, a series of yearlong programs have been held in Khushpur to promote education, encourage greenery, support teachers and writers, and improve sanitation across the community.

“Nothing concrete has come out of the bishop’s project for farmers so far. It is a challenging task. We have ideas and commitments from yearlong programs, but turning them into reality will require a wider movement — and the active support of the Khushpur diaspora abroad,” Emmanuel said.

“The future of our farmers and our village depends on it.”