Parkash Aslam organized 14 seminars on St. Thomas the Apostle prior to the annual pilgrimage at the archaeological site of Sirkap in Taxila, Punjab province.
“Many faithful still have no idea about St. Thomas the Apostle. Both priests and catechists are only interested in celebrating regular Masses. A series of seminars on Catholic saints, especially the Doubting Thomas can help strengthen the faith of minority Christians,” he told UCA News.
He and other volunteers of the St. Thomas group at St. Gerard Church in Faisalabad accompanied eight buses from Faisalabad, singing hymns and distributing refreshments along 322.3 kilometers north towards Taxila. They were among more than 3,000 pilgrims who prayed and lit candles at the meter-high throne. The pilgrims later visited the Taxila Museum which also displays a “holy bone” relic of St. Thomas.
According to Father Nasir William, director of the Commission for Social Communications in Islamabad-Rawalpindi diocese, it’s a record since the pandemic began in Pakistan in March 2020.