LARGEST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ARABIAN PENINSULA OPENS IN BAHRAIN

Sat 11 December 2021:

Amid minarets of mosques and an oil field in the desert, the largest Catholic church on the Arabian Peninsula opened its doors in Bahrain on Thursday.

The huge Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, with a capacity of 2,300, will serve the small Catholic community of the Gulf country, in which the majority of the population is Muslim.

Bahrain-based priest Father Charbel Fayad said, “We’re happy for this church,” AFP quote him saying. “It will be for the spiritual needs and spiritual health of all the people.”

In the state’s south, a modern-style church with two tiers of seating is about a mile from the Grand Mosque and a stone’s throw from an oil well.

Today, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle consecrated the largest church in the Middle East, Our Lady of Arabia in Bahrain, testment to the continued rapid growth of Catholicism, now 1.3 billion worldwide. pic.twitter.com/QT0wpgl1d8

— Father Ferdinand Santos (@FatherFerdi) December 10, 2021

HM King deputises Personal Representative to inaugurate Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabiahttps://t.co/mslhUcbyjz pic.twitter.com/kmtf8DDkco

— Bahrain News Agency (@bna_en) December 9, 2021

The largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the Arabian peninsula, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, was inaugurated yesterday in Awali.

Built on land denoted by HM the King, the Church will serve as the headquarters for the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. #Bahrain pic.twitter.com/FbjpZWlq3Y

— Islands of Bahrain | جزر البحرين (@JuzrAlBahrain) December 10, 2021

The Catholic Cathedral was inaugurated by Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, representing the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The inauguration also the presence of Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar for Northern Arabia, Archbishop Eugene Nugent, Apostolic Nuncio in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

The presence of a local Catholic community made up of immigrant workers in the kingdom, has been documented since the 1930s, and at the moment, according to data reported by the Vicariate, it could reach the number of 150 thousand faithful, mostly from India and Philippines.

Last week, King Hamad extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Bahrain.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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