During this time, the missionary movement was prevalent in the region as Carmelite, Jesuit and Franciscan chaplains accompanying the British forces were on a spree to set up places of worship and schools for an increasing number of Christians in the coastal/garrison city. They envisioned churches and schools to cater to local Christians such as an increasing number of Portuguese Goans and other Catholic communities.
Churches and parish schools for the Christians of the township (Catholic and Protestants) were built from 1860 to 1900 which provided an opportunity for Goan families to have access to religious education. Goan children were admitted in these missionary schools – institutions that promoted staunch Jesuit/Catholic ethos in their curriculums and management. Previously, smaller Catholic & Protestant churches were constructed from the 1840s in the port area and the developing city centre, then known as Camp, such as St Patrick’s Church (Carmelites) in 1845, the Sacred Heart Church in Keamari (1852) and St Paul’s Church (1864), adjacent to the tiny Manora Point Lighthouse (the second oldest light station of the British Empire, after the one at Colaba Point, Mumbai in 1847).
The Protestants built the Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1855, the Methodist Church in 1874 and the Catholic Irish fusiliers built the St Patrick’s Cathedral in 1878. During this time, the Jesuits started St Patrick’s School for boys in 1861 and invited the Belgian sisters (Daughters of the Cross, Liege) to start the St Joseph’s Convent School for girls in 1862. They built magnificent edifices. These institutions were to be the bastions of a near-perfect Goan literacy profile, their eminence and success in the years to come.
The first major ‘relocation’ of people from Goa took place during this period (1860-1900) when they learnt of the opportunities Karachi had to offer – economic sustenance, religious affiliations, and availability of good Catholic educational institutions. Many of Goa’s illustrious sons and daughters were educated here. Thus, Karachi became the focal point for the movement of Goans, notwithstanding that many were headed towards the East African territories too.
Earlier in 1856, the movement of missionary groups, in particular the Order of Religious of Jesus & Mary (RJM) and the Order of the Presentation of Blessed Virgin Mary (Presentation Sisters), moved into the territory of Sialkot in the northern part of Indian Punjab (later to become Pakistan) and opened convents in Sialkot (1852), Lahore (1776), Karachi (1952); and Murree, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Sargodha, Jhelum, Khushab, Wah, Risalpur, Mingora (all in Punjab) and Tando Allah Yar, Khipro and Tando Jam (Sindh).
Many years later, Goan girls joined the RJM and Presentation novitiates to teach and manage these fine institutions. They served these institutions with distinction throughout their lives in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan.
Next: 1900-1925: Embracing Karachi as a Hometown
