Curial cardinal to consecrate church in United Arab Emirates
June 12, 2013
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, has traveled to the United Arab Emirates to consecrate a new church that will seat 1,500. Masses will be celebrated in English, Malayalam, Tagalog, Tamil, Konkani, Arabic, and Sinhalese.
“The ground for the new church was made available for free by the Emir [of Ras al-Khaimah, one of the nation’s seven emirates] for the various Christian communities,” said Bishop Paul Hinder, the vicar apostolic of Southern Arabia, who oversees the pastoral care of Catholics in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. “The vicariate in the last two years built the structure, thanks to the solidarity of the faithful from all over the world.”
During his five-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, which began on June 11, Cardinal Filoni will visit a Catholic school and the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, the nation’s capital.
The nation of 5.3 million is 11% Catholic, most of whom are Asian resident workers; 32 priests and 38 sisters serve in eight parishes.
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Further information:
- New Catholic church to open in Ras Al Khaimah next week (The National, Abu Dhabi)
- Cardinal Fernando Filoni’s visit in the UAE to consecrate the new Church of St. Anthony (Fides)
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Posted by: Jason C. -
Jun. 12, 2013 9:46 AM ET USA
"Masses will be celebrated in English, Malayalam, Tagalog, Tamil, Konkani, Arabic, and Sinhalese." Gosh, if only there were some sort of international language not tied to nationalism or ethnicity, maybe even a dead language, so that the diverse foreign workers there might feel more united in their common faith and to one another. Oh well!
