During the missions of the Order Saint Elijah in the country, Fr. Federico Highton and a small group of collaborators began visiting labor camps where entire families were enslaved by unpayable debts, working day and night in brick kilns. There they encountered men tortured with burning sand, women systematically raped, and Christian girls kidnapped, forced to convert to Islam, and compelled to marry their captors.

Faced with this reality, the response could not be merely “offer temporary aid and leave.” In May 2024, the first organized rescue took place: several Christian families were set free when their debts were paid. In the following months, additional operations liberated dozens more — men, women, and children who had never known freedom or been able to attend Mass or receive the sacraments.

However, it soon became clear that material liberation was only the first step. Where would these Christians go, if upon leaving the brick kiln they had no home, no work, and no community?

From that question, PaX was born: Pakistan Xristendom, a project led by the Order Saint Elijah to offer more than rescue — a stable, Christian, and secure home for the liberated.

With the blessing of Pope Francis, the project is taking concrete form in PaX 1: Saint Peter the Apostle, a Christian “walled city” on 4.8 hectares of land with water, electricity, and fertile soil, designed to house approximately 300 people: families freed from forced labor and girls rescued from sexual slavery. There, homes, a church, a school, agricultural spaces, and a vibrant community centered on Christ and His Law will be built.