Saint Martin de Porres Parish
Hasilpur
Catholic Diocese of Multan
Introduction
Saint Martin de Porres Parish, Hasilpur is handed over to the Oblates on 29th July 2018. Fr. Akmal Patras OMI as Parish Priest with his assistant young ordained priest Fr. Daniel Sabar OMI are -appointed to serve the Lord representing the Oblate Charism in the new Parish.
Location of the parish
The parish house is in a small city known as Hasilpur. It is surrounded by a Christian settlement of 133 families. It is about 150 km away from the city of Multan. On the eastern side the parish borders with Indian state Rajasthan. Geographically a big parish but population wise only just over 510 Catholic families reside. The parish has five substations namely Chishtian, Bahawalnagar Khairpur, Haroonabad and Fortabbas. There are 4 full time catechists while 1 is a part-time serving in the parish.
Situation of the parish
Saint Martin de Porres Parish, Hasilpur is a vast parish of having 510 catholic families. The majority of the people are sanitary workers. There are some government teachers and few are employed in health sector. There are 52 villages in which Catholic families reside. In those villages the Catholic families are working on the agricultural land of landowners for daily-wages. There are human rights issues where they are sometimes denied rest and proper wages.
Activities in the Parish
We have 4 full-time catechists and one part-time catechist. We have Sunday masses and weekday masses. We go for house visits regularly. We visit the sick and the neglected ones. We have different groups in the parish helpings us in different ways.
1. Church choir
2. Youth group
3. Sunday school children
4. Rosary group
5. Church security group
6. Altar servers
Its only 3rd month of Oblate presence in this parish. We are trying to visit the people and to know them. There is always a possibility to make things better. We are trying to get adjusted with the new place and the people’s mentality. I hope that our presence will enrich our faith and the faith of the people. Although financially weak, we are trying to do whatever is possible to serve the people of God. With the spirit of St. Eugene and Oblate Charism we will continue to serve the poor, the abandoned and those neglected.