Diocese of Hyderabad-Pakistan

The Diocese of Hyderabad was created by the Bulla “Eius in Terris”, dated 28 April 1958, and officially erected on 23 August 1958, the diocese was split off from the Archdiocese of Karachi.

The diocese comprises parts of the Hyderabad, Larkana and Sukkur Divisions. In the Hyderabad Division: the Districts of Hyderabad, Dadu, Jamshoro, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Sanghar, Mirpur Khas, Tharparkar, Thatta, Umerkot and Sujawal. In the Larkana Division: the Districts of Jacobabad, Kashmore, Larkana, Qambar Shahdadkot and Shikarpur. In the Sukkur Division: the Districts of Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Shaheed Benazir Abad (formerly Nawabshah) and Naushahro Feroze. The main church is St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Hyderabad.

In 2001, territory was lost along with additional territory in the Archdiocese of Karachi to form the Apostolic Prefecture of Quetta. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Karachi.

The Medical Mission Sisters in Hyderabad diocese, based at St. Teresa’s Hospital in Mirpur Khas, have been training midwives since 1971 and implement public health programs in poor villages whose people cannot come to the hospital.

Bishop Max John Rodrigues led the Diocese of Hyderabad from his appointment by Pope John Paul II on 3 December 1999, until his resignation was accepted by Pope Francis on Tuesday, 16 December 2014. Pope Francis appointed as Bishop-elect Fr. Samson Shukardin, O.F.M., V.G., a Franciscan who until then had been serving as Vicar General of the Diocese.

The Diocese also owns the 75-bed St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Hyderabad, established in 1958 as a non-profit institution. It provides medical care in Hyderabad and nearby Kotri, and to the tribal people of interior Sindh especially from Mirpurkhas, Tando Allahyar, Tando Adam, Badin, Matli and Nagar Parkar, irrespective of caste or creed. The Catholic Diocese of Hyderabad has the biggest tribal apostolate in the Country.

Ordinaries:

James Cornelius van Miltenburg, O.F.M. † (28 Apr 1958 Appointed – 10 Mar 1966 Died)
Bonaventure Patrick Paul, O.F.M. † (13 Apr 1967 Appointed – 1 Sep 1990 Resigned)
Joseph Coutts (1 Sep 1990 Succeeded – 27 Jun 1998 Appointed, Bishop of Faisalabad)
Max John Rodrigues (3 Dec 1999 Appointed – 16 Dec 2014 Resigned)
Samson Shukardin, O.F.M., V.G. (Bishop-elect; 16 Dec 2014 Appointed – )