Diocese Starts Inquiry for Beatification of Akash Bashir

Diocese Starts Inquiry for Beatification of Akash Bashir

(ANS – Rome – March 11, 2022) – On Tuesday, March 15, at the cathedral of Lahore, Pakistan, Abp. Sebastian Francis Shaw, OFM, will officially open the diocesan inquiry into the martyrdom, reputation for holiness, and signs of the Servant of God Akash Bashir (June 22, 1994 - March 15, 2015).

Exactly seven years have passed since the day when Akash Bashir, 20 years old, a past pupil of Don Bosco, sacrificed himself to prevent a suicide bomber from causing a massacre in St. John Church in Youhannabad, a Christian neighborhood in Lahore. Akash had studied at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Lahore and was a security volunteer at the parish church.

The Catholic Church of Pakistan awaits with great anticipation this event, which marks the beginning of the first cause of beatification and canonization of a Pakistani Christian.

The Salesian Congregation is promoting the cause, the World Confederation of Past Pupils of Don Bosco as co-petitioner. The postulator is Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB.

Bryan Magro, world president of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco, wrote: “The testimony of Akash Bashir, who gave his life until death, has left a profound impression on us as past pupils of Don Bosco and on the entire Salesian Family. We cannot and do not want to lose the memory of young Akash. His simple and normal life is undoubtedly an extremely meaningful and important example for the young Christians of Lahore, all of Pakistan, and the Salesian world. The life and martyrdom of this young Pakistani, only 20 years old, makes us recognize the power of the Holy Spirit of God, alive, present in the least expected places, in the humble, in the persecuted, in the young, in God’s little ones. Akash Bashir, a Salesian alumnus of Pakistan, is testimony to Don Bosco’s Preventive System, an example for our young people and a blessing for religious minorities.”