Bahrain: Sacred Heart Church on threshold of diamond jubilee

Anthony D'Souza, Bahrain

Bahrain, Nov 19: The year 2013-14 is going to leave an indelible imprint and a milestone in the annals of Sacred Heart Church, the leading Catholic Church in Bahrain. Reason: the church is on the threshold of celebrating Diamond Jubilee year, after successfully completing 74 years of its fruitful existence in the desert island of Bahrain.

The Sacred Heart Church which is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a spiritual abode to over one lac forty thousand people from across the world. The hallmark of the church is its parishioners, the most of whom are expatriates hailing from India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Pakisthan and Bangladesh. There are also Arabs mostly from Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan and Syria. The Church with such cultural diversity bearing the outlook of Global Village is indeed the epicentre of thousands of faithful who flock to the church not just for their Sunday obligation (read it as Friday obligation in GCC)/ but  day in and day out in quest of spiritual succour and grace.

The church conducts its services in 10 different languages, apart from English, such as Konkani, Malayalam, Bengali, Urdu, Spanish, Tamil, Italian, Arabic Tagalo (Philippino Mass) and French. The people of these different languages have formed their own communities for better understanding and cooperation. Each of them under the guidance of their spiritual director partakes in the services and host spiritual and cultural events. The Family Day celebrated in the month of February is indeed a thread of unity among such cultural diversity.

The expatriate Catholic community which is thousands of miles away from their home country turns it gaze to the church as a fountain hope, grace and divine intervention. This is clearly evident from the huge turn out during the rejuvenating retreats conducted at the church from internationally renowned preachers.

Bahrain, an overwhelmingly Muslim country, has 19 officially registered churches, statistics indicate (GDN) however.  Roman Catholics have two churches, the Sacred Heart Church in Manama, and the Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Visitation in Awali a former oil town in central Bahrain.

History

“Sacred Heart Church Bahrain was first established on the Christmas Eve. Its bells rang for the first time on 24 December 1939 at 11PM,’’ says the official website of the Church. It is the first Church to be built in the region. Since then, the church has been blessed with very dedicated shepherds.

It was Shaikh Haman Bin Isa Al Khalifa, then Ruler of Bahrain, who graciously offered a plot of land to build the church. And with the help of Fr Luigi, a capuchin priest, the church was built. It was on June 9, 1939 that the first foundation stone was laid. On March 3, 1940, the church was formally blessed.

As the church community increased, the parish was gifted with Fr Barnabas Madii in 1943. Then, followed by Fr Anselm from 1947 to 1949. Fr Walter Connolly and Fr Damian Ciacci served the parish in 1949. In 1953, Louis Magliacani was consecrated as the church's bishop. Fr Walter Connoly took over as the parish priest from 1950 to 1961. It was also on September 29, 1953 where the Comboni sisters took charge of the Sacred Heart school. Fr Eusebius Daveri became the parish priest in 1961 to 1965. From 1965 to 1979, Fr Eugene Mattioli took charge of the parish and bought a plot of land to enlarge the school. Today, that piece of land is now the multi-purpose hall.

From 1989 to 2004, a radical change took place. Fr Eugene, the then parish priest expanded the school in Manama and obtained a spacious plot in Isa Town from the Amir. Among those many pastors who served in Bahrain, Fr Barth Kestell, an American Capuchin worked tirelessly for almost 18 years. On 1979 to 1987, Fr Adrian Benini succeeded Fr Eugene Mattioli. Then, Fr Eugene came back as the parish priest from 1987 to 1988. On 1988, Bishop Bernard Giovanni Gremoli was appointed as Vicar of Arabia. It was in 1990, the new spacious church was built.

Currently, the Parish is led by Fr Ding Uldarico Camatison Camus as the Parish priest along with 5 priests who belong to the Order of Capuchin started by St Francis of Assissi. The sisters of Carmelite Order not only assist in the church activities but also overseer the administration of Sacred Heart School in Isa Town.

Incidentally and interestingly, Bahrain has now become a Centre of all the Catholic churches in the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia with the current Bishop Camillo Ballin officially residing in Bahrain.

The church carries out the mission of Christ through its diverse ministries such as Jesus youth, Legion of Mary, Couples for Christ, Kids for Christ, Singles for Christ, Poor of St Anthony, Prison Ministry, and Alcoholics Anonymous.

The church has made rapid strides in its outreach programmes over the years. For instance, The Jesus Youth (JY) has started a Help Desk to provide support to the unemployed expatriate youth in Bahrain. It is an interesting scheme. The parishioners keep the JY help desk appraised of the job avenues available or known to them and JY in turn assists the needy. The church has also started a family counselling Unit comprising of psychologists doctors, economic experts and family experts in order to assist the families in distress.

In preparation for the 75th Anniversary Jubilee Year and the closing of the year of faith, evening Spiritual Retreat on the theme “Great is Your Faith!”is conducted  from Nov 16 to 19 by Rev Fr Augustine Vallooran, VC from the Divine Retreat Center Kerala.

The biggest developmental project of the church to mark the Diamond Jubilee year is the erection of a Cathedral dedicated to Our Lady of Arabia at Awali at a cost of 7 million BD. The fact that the King of Bahrain has donated land for the purpose is a mirror to his magnanimity and the religious freedom that the island enjoys. Currently the Church has initiated several events in support of the project such as Drama, Concerts, Pledge, and appeal for donations.

Architecture

The Church with its exquisite interiors and architectural designs is the cynosure of all eyes. The Main Church can accommodate over 1500 people both on the ground and balcony. Apart from this, the faithful always make it point to visit the Old church which has a unique power of attraction. The most fascinating feature of the old church is the wooden carved interiors. The statue of Mother Mary and Sacred heart of Jesus are the most captivating. The grotto of Mother Mary in the Church campus with a spring ever flowing symbolises the ever flocking people in quest of ever flowing grace and succour of Mother Mary. A visit to the newly built Adoration chapel confirms the firm devotion of the faithful. The soul- stirring choir, reverberating hymns, active participation of the laity in communion distribution, announcements and the alter service makes this Church a model worth emulating.

Inauguration of the Jubilee Year will be held on November 22 on the Church ground. The jubilee year is going to be packed with a host of events- both spiritual and socio-cultural-planned ahead. They include Dinner Reception, Carol Singing Contest, Football Tournament, Table Tennis, Badminton, Indoor Games - Chess/Art Day for Kids, Family Day, Healing Mission, Treasure Hunt, PassionPlay/Biblical Songs Presentation, Cricket Tournament, Dance Competition, Group Tele Games, Emotional First Aid Formation, Cultural Stalls/Food Festival, Marriage Encounter, You Got Talent, and Praise & Worship Formation.

Great indeed are your works O Lord now and ever more....