ASIA/PAKISTAN - The legacy of the last Dominican missionary in Pakistan, "Good Samaritan"

Faisalabad (Agenzia Fides) - Father Aldino Amato OP, in almost 60 years of his pastoral service in Pakistan, carried out in various cities such as Khushpur, Sahiwal, Warispura Faisalabad, Chichawatni, Okara City and others, built six churches, three schools and hostels, two training centers for the blind, two villages for Catholic faithful, a women's college, the Rosary Christian Hospital, near Okara. His works are his inheritance. This is how the Pakistani Dominicans remember him, who greeted Fr. Aldino Giovanni Amato OP, an Italian Dominican missionary, who died in Pakistan due to Covid. Fr. Amato was hospitalized in Lahore after testing positive for coronavirus and, after battling the virus for 10 days, died on the morning of May 1, 2021. He is buried in a chapel in the Rosary Christian Hospital, which he founded. At the funeral mass, celebrated on May 1st by Msgr. Indrias Rehmat, Bishop of the Diocese of Faisalabad, said: "We have lost a great priest, a true missionary and an extraordinary leader who served the people of Pakistan for 59 years without looking at the creed, ethnicity or social status of the people. He was the image of the Good Samaritan, he was always full of compassion and mercy for the poor and needy. The faithful in Pakistan will always remember this great Italian missionary who loved the people of our country and gave all of himself for the development of the population and the Church".
Bishop Rehmat added: "This great Dominican missionary preached the Good News through his life. He evangelized his life through him and dedicated his life at the service of humanity. He touched many lives, and was committed to giving a dignified life to many people, offering a very valuable contribution to education and health in our diocese". Fr. Younas Shahzad OP, Prior Vice Provincial of the Ibn-e-Mariam Province, of the Dominican Order of Pakistan, speaking to Agenzia Fides said: "Fr. Beloved will always be remembered with gratitude for his tireless services to the poor and needy. He was a great community builder, comforter and supporter of people in need".
Sabir Michael, a blind Catholic Lay person, who was a student in the Center for the blind founded by Fr. Amato, speaking to Fides, said: "Fr. Amato was a social reformer, he worked to promote the evangelical teachings and to promote the life of the poor and needy in society all his life. Thanks to the Home for the blind, we were able to study". Dr. Michael, now a lay Dominican, a professor at various universities in Karachi, adds: "His hard work made us disciplined and passed on to us an example of Catholic faith and spirituality. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. I can proudly say that through his eyes I saw the world and now I live a life of dignity. He will always be in my heart". Fr. Aldino Giovanni Amato OP was born in 1931 in Molfetta, Italy, and ordained a priest in 1957. He arrived as a missionary in Pakistan in 1962. The Dominican mission in Pakistan began in 1931 when the Italian Dominicans, led by Fr. Benedict Francis Cialeo OP, came to work in the diocese of Lahore which was then still India, before the separation that will lead to the birth of Pakistan. In 1939 the Catholic diocese of Multan was created, separating it from the territory of the diocese of Lahore and bishop Cialeo OP became the first bishop of the diocese of Multan. In 1960, when the Catholic diocese of Faisalabad was erected, Bishop Cialeo OP moved to Faisalabad while the American Dominicans, who arrived with a group of 35 religious, assumed responsibility for the diocese of Multan under the guidance of Bishop Loius Scheerer OP. In 1966 the first group of Pakistani youth joined the Order which led to the opening of a novitiate house in 1969 in Bahawalpur and a study house in Karachi. The first Pakistani Dominican priest was ordained in 1973. Today, after the contribution of the Italian and American missionaries, the Dominicans in Pakistan provide pastoral service in four dioceses of Pakistan: the Archdioceses of Karachi and Lahore and the dioceses of Multan and Faisalabad, with a community that has about 30 Dominican priests. The community also has 15 groups of Dominican laity and several groups of young Dominicans. The pastoral service of the Dominican friars in Pakistan is carried out in parishes, schools and hospitals, but also in the field of interreligious dialogue. Among the Order's relevant initiatives, there is the management of the "Center for Peace" in Lahore, entrusted to James Channan, O.P, a true example of promoting peace and harmony among people of different faiths. (AG-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 5/5/2021)

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