Lahore - The Embassy of Belgium in Pakistan has announced that Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore has been awarded the prestigious Prize for Belgian heritage abroad 2015. The Ambassador of Belgium Mr. Frederic Verheyden will award the prize to the Archbishop of Lahore, Monseigneur Sebastian Francis Shaw, during an official ceremony at Sacred Heart Cathedral Lahore.
This was announced by the Belgium diplomat Mr. Karel Van, while addressing a press conference here on Friday. He was accompanied by the Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw, Fr. Joseph, Fr. Francis and Shahid Ambrose Moghal.
Mr. Karel stated that the announcement will also be made later this year by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders at a special ceremony in the Egmont Palace in Brussels.
He said that Sacred Heart Cathedral Lahore was selected as one of the three winners from the many entries sent in by Belgium embassies all over the world.
Briefing the media, Shahid Ambrose Moghul said that the roots of the Sacred Heart Cathedral lie in the historical presence of the Belgian Capuchins in Pakistan. Monseigneur Godefroid Pelckmans (bishop of Lahore, 1893-1904) commissioned the Antwerp architect Dubbeleere to build a cathedral using Belgian support and materials. Construction of the cathedral was completed in 1907. In 2007 the cathedral’s hundredth birthday was celebrated. The Pakistani government released a special stamp with the image of the cathedral and Pope Benedictus XVI sent a congratulatory telegram.