Pics by Alex Lewis
Abu Dhabi, Jun 13 : A second catholic church in Abu Dhabi was inaugurated on Thursday evening in the presence of Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister for Culture, Youth and Community Development, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and Bishop Paul Hinder, the apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia.
Archbishop Petar Rajic, the Papal Nuncio and Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula, Bishop Camillo Ballin, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia and Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia along with other dignitaries, officials of the civil authorities, municipality, consultants and contractors were present during the event.
In the UAE there are almost 900,000 Catholics and up to 20,000 of them are attending weekly church services in Abu Dhabi, which, until now, was only possible in the capital's only Catholic Church, the St. Joseph’s Cathedral, located in the city centre.
With most labour camps now being in Musaffah and with more people living in the adjacent areas of Mohammed bin Zayed and Khalifa cities, the new St. Paul church is believed to be a blessing for Catholics on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.
St Paul church falls under the apostolic vicariate of Southern Arabia, a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in the UAE, Oman and Yemen, with the seat of the bishop in Abu Dhabi.
The blessing of the Church in a solemn liturgical celebration was led by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state in the presence of Archbishop Petar Rajic, the Papal Nuncio and Delegate to the Arabian Peninsula, Bishop Camillo Ballin, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia and Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia and a large number of priests on Friday, June 12 at 10 am. More than five thousand Catholics of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Al Ain and Sharjha joined the celebration.
The foundation stone was laid on June 29, 2013 and construction started in August 2013.
The church has a seating capacity of 1,200. The church complex houses a multi-purpose hall, residence of priests and staff, and meeting rooms.
The installation of the parish priest Father Ani Xavier will be held on Sunday. Bishop Paul Hinder, the apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia will be celebrating his first mass in the newly blessed church on Sunday, June 14.
The church will have daily services in English, weekly services in Arabic, Malayalam and Tagalog, bimonthly service in Tamil and monthly service in Konkani.
Rulers thanked
St. Paul church was built on a 4,560 square metres of land granted by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi in November 2011 as ordered by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
'The new church is again a shining example of the generosity of the rulers of the UAE. We thank the rulers for providing an attractive environment, where Christians feel accepted and are able to live their own identity and to practice their religious beliefs,' added Bishop Hinder.
'Our leadership knows its true wealth and accepts the obligation to respect and understand the many religious beliefs of the people living in this country. I believe that each of you can provide evidence that the leaders of the UAE are fulfilling that obligation,' said Shaikh Nahyan, during the inauguration ceremony.
The first Catholic Church in the UAE, St. Joseph’s Abu Dhabi, was opened in February 1965, and March 2015 marked the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the event. The Ruling Family of the Emirate has always been generous and it was their graciousness in donating a piece of land to build a place of worship that thousands of faithful even today can enjoy a place of prayer and sanctuary.
The name of St. Paul has great significance in the history of the Catholic Church in the Gulf which is dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul who together laid the foundations of Christianity in the first century. The Apostle Paul was sent by Jesus Christ to bear His Name to the nations and was named by Jesus as a ‘Vessel of Election’, thus signifying his special commission to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Christ. Christians throughout the centuries gratefully remember this Apostle for the enduring foundations he laid for the practice of the Christian Faith. The Apostle Paul is also the patron saint of Bishop Paul Hinder, the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, who recently completed a decade of fruitful service as the shepherd of Catholics in the UAE, Oman and Yemen.