St. Francis

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Missionary Endeavors in Loralai

The adventures and missionary works of the Oblates are well appreciated and highly regarded in St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Loralai, in Baluchistan. Although this parish was erected in 2000 as an independent parish, the Oblates had been rendering their services over there since 1982. It has ten substations which are very far from the parish. Sometimes for a number of families a pastor has to travel hundreds of miles. The pastoral team has to stay with the parishioners because they cannot come back to the parish on the same day due to the long distances. The area of the parish is very vast. There are almost 342 Catholic families in the parish. The parish is located on the border with Afghanistan which makes the area unsafe. There are many cases of kidnapping and killing by Tallban. The public transport is very slow and uncomfortable because of the mountainous area. The roads are very narrow and dangerous for the travelers. Facilities for the communication are very limited on the way while travelling. Inspite of all these challenges and difficulties, the Oblates are there to share their time, thoughts, talents, pains, joys and happiness with the Christian faithful.