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Catholic church in Dubai (Jebel Ali Village) without bell tower or cross

The Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.

In 2020 there were nearly 850,000 expatriates in the UAE who are Catholics, representing almost 9% of the total population,[1] largely from the Philippines, India, South America, Lebanon, Africa, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, France and other parts of Europe, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The UAE forms part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. The seat of the vicariate is in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi. The Vicar Apostolic Bishop is Paulo Martinelli.[2]

Visit of Pope Francis to UAE

In June 2016, Pope Francis received and accepted an invitation to visit the UAE. On 6 December 2018, it was confirmed that the pope would visit the UAE to participate in the International Interfaith Meeting on "Human Fraternity" in Abu Dhabi.

On 3 February 2019, Pope Francis landed in Abu Dhabi[3] and was greeted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and then Ahmad al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar University, which serves as the lead source for Sunni Islam education and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders. The visit was the first papal visit to an area in the Arabian Peninsula.[3]

On 4 February, the Pope attended the Interfaith Meeting,[4] during which he and Al-Tayyeb signed “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together". The same day, the Pope spoke at the Abu Dhabi Founder's Memorial, held a meeting with Al-Tayyeb and other Muslim elders at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and held a meeting with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Palace.

On 5 February 2019, Pope Francis concluded his trip after giving a mass in front of a large crowd, estimated at 135,000, at Zayed Sports City.[5] Elements of the 90-minute service were conducted in Italian, English, Arabic, Tagalog, Urdu, Malayalam, Konkani and Korean. The Papal Mass was attended by nearly 20% of the estimated one million Catholics living and working in the UAE. The papal mass in Abu Dhabi was historic not only for being the first one in the Gulf region but also for the unique diversity of the participants.

Churches in the UAE

In 2023 there are 10 Catholic churches in the UAE:[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ Catholics And Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-28
  2. ^ "New Apostolic Vicar for Arabia Appointed". Zenit News Agency. March 21, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  3. ^ a b BBC website, article dated February 3, 2019, Pope Francis arrives on historic visit to UAE
  4. ^ Al Jazeera website, article dated February 5, 2019
  5. ^ Vox website, article dated February 5, 2019
  6. ^ G Catholic website, retrieved 2023-08-28
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