National

Vatican honours Pakistani youth with 'Servant of God' title posthumously

Akash Bashir laid down his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a packed church in 2015

By Web Desk
Published February 02, 2022
Akash Bashir. - Courtesy: Vatican News
Akash Bashir. - Courtesy: Vatican News

In recognition of his valour and supreme sacrifice he rendered to protect other people, Vatican honoured a Pakistani youth named Akash Bashir with the 'Servant of God' title posthumously.

Akash Bashir, a lay Catholic and former student of Don Bosco Technical Institute of Lahore, laid down his life while preventing a suicide bomber from entering a packed church in 2015, Vatican News reported.

Advertisement

In a statement, Vicar General of the archdiocese, Father Francis Gulzar said,“A great day for the Catholic Church in Pakistan. He offered his life as a sacrifice to save the lives of the Christian community at St. John's Catholic Church, Youhanabad, Lahore.”

The family of Servant of God Akash Bashir, along with a priest. - Photo Vatican News
The family of Servant of God Akash Bashir, along with a priest. - Photo Vatican News

Born on 22 June 1994 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera, Akash died at the age of 20, on March 15, 2015.

The attacks

Two suicide bombers had blown themselves up near St. John’s Catholic Church and the nearby Christ ‎Church of the Church of Pakistan in Lahore on March 15, 2015. As many as 17 people had been killed and more than 70 suffered injuries in the attacks.

Share this story: