Name
My name is Rafiq Masih, Baptismal name Raphael. Masih is not my last name, rather a Christian Identity in a Muslim Country. Christians with Arabic or Islamic names add Masih at the end of their names to differentiate from Muslims. Masih means Messiah. For our names with Masih means, we are the followers of Jesus Christ the Messiah. In other words Christians. Very seldom do we use a surname with our first name.
Country of Origin
I was born in a Roman Catholic family in a small village of Punjab province in Pakistan. A Muslim Country of 96.47% Muslims, 1.27% Christians followed by 2.26% of other religions. My Village was a Muslim village of 500 Muslim families and 20 Christian families, all working on farms.
Parents and Siblings
My father and mother were blessed with the family of 5 children. My father, mother, elder sister and elder brother have died. One elder and one younger sister is living in Pakistan.
Education and Profession
From KG to grade 5 I studied in my village public school. Then with the help of my Parish Priest, (a missionary from Italy) was admitted in boys hostel and studied in a Roman Catholic School. Then took admission in the Poly Technical Institute run by the German volunteer instructors and financially supported by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
After completing my 3 years diploma in mechanical associate engineering, worked for one year in a bicycle manufacturing factory and then was offered a position of an Instructor in the same Poly Technical Institute where I was studying before.
Priestly Vocation
While teaching in the Institute, I was residing in the Rectory with 4 priests and 3 volunteer German Instructors. The Church did not charge me for boarding and lodging, instead, gave me the responsibility of taking care of the boy’s hostel along with teaching job.
Living among the Priests and working in a Roman Catholic Institute of Technology, I was very much inspired by their missionary zeal. The Priests from different countries, leaving their families and homelands and culture and language, came to serve Christians in Pakistan. One evening, after dinner and evening prayer, I talked to the Parish Priest about my call to serve the community as they do. As I expressed my desire, I could see a glow on his face. Next day we both called Bishop and informed him about my desire of becoming a Priest and serve the Diocese.
I talked to my parents about my decision and joined the Seminary. Completing my studies in philosophy and theology in Christ the King Seminary Karachi, Pakistan, I was ordained Priest on August 03, 1984 by Most Rev. Bishop Simon Anthony Pereira (late), the Bishop of Islamabad and Rawalpindi Diocese in Pakistan. I worked as an associate Priest and Parish Priest in 4 different Parishes for 7 years.
Marriage and Family
I married a Roman Catholic lady, Farzana Gill, in 1991. Which means, I was not able to continue my priestly ministry in the Roman Catholic Church because I was not a celibate priest anymore. Farzana and I have celebrated 32 years of wedding anniversary. We do not have any children.
Employment in the Secular Industry
In 1991, I got a Transport Officer job in United Nations Office in Islamabd. In 1992, got a better job in a multi-national oil and gas company as an Administrative Coordinator and worked with the company for 11 years.
Immigration to Canada
In 2002, Farzana and I visited her sister in Calgary. We liked the country and better opportunities. In 2004 we emigrated here.
I contacted and requested the Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary to take me back as a priest. He wanted to help me but he could not accommodate me as a married priest. Then I started working in oil and gas industry as a Lab Technician but always missing my priestly ministry.
Acceptance as an Ordained Priest
Eventually I joined St. Barnabas Parish in Calgary and expressed my desire to Rt. Rev. Archbishop Greg to join the Anglican Clergy. I was received by His Grace in October 2022 in St. Barnabas Church Calgary. In November I went to Pakistan and came back at the end of January. Since then I am staying in St. Barnabas as an honorary priest, assisting Rev. Keri and sometime
filling in wherever the diocese needs me.
I am grateful to His Grace Rt. Rev. Archbishop Greg, Ven. Dr. Pilar, Floyd Siegle, and Ruth-Anne Marley who considered me worthy of serving All Saints Church Cochrane faith community as an Interim Priest in the absence of Rev. Fariborz effective August 01, 2023.
