First ever priest from Pakistan-Afghan border ordained

In a historically significant ceremony, Fr. Faraz Darshan, SDB was ordained a priest on September 19.

Two days later, on September 21, Fr. Darshan offered his first Thanksgiving Mass at the Don Bosco Technical and Youth Center in Lahore.

The 29-year-old priest is the first-ever local priest to be ordained from the Chaman, a region on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Fr. Faraz Darshan is also the fourth Pakistani priest ordained for the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB).

Fr. Faraz Darshan was ordained a priest by at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore by Archbishop Khalid Rehmat on September 19.

Fr. Noble Lal, SDB, rector of the Don Bosco Center, presented him to the archbishop for the ordination.

Over a dozen priests concelebrated the Mass, which was attended by around 300 faithful including Fr. Faraz's family and relatives.

The ordination has a special relevance as Fr. Darshan hails from a region, where Christian population is scanty and isolated.

A strategic frontier town along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan, Chaman region is marked by geopolitical sensitivities and strict security.