St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai

25°14′26″N 55°19′03″E / 25.24049643123643°N 55.31759406555784°E / 25.24049643123643; 55.31759406555784CountryUnited Arab EmiratesDenominationRoman CatholicReligious instituteOrder of Friars Minor CapuchinWebsiteOfficial websiteHistoryFormer name(s)St Mary of the Assumption ParishDedicated3 November 1989; 34 years ago (1989-11-03)Associated peopleca. 350,000ArchitectureCompleted3 November 1989; 34 years ago (1989-11-03)Demolished1988; 36 years ago (1988)AdministrationDioceseApostolic Vicariate of Southern ArabiaDeaneryUnited Arab EmiratesClergyBishop(s)Paolo MartinelliRectorFr. Lennie J.A. Connully, O.F.M.Cap.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a parish church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As one of only two Catholic churches in Dubai, St. Mary's has grown to become the largest Catholic parish in the world thanks to immigration from Catholic communities abroad.^[1]

History

Initially, Catholics in the United Arab Emirates were served by a priest based in Bahrain, but eventually there was need for a resident priest. Prime Minister Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum initially granted a plot of land but it was unusable due to its remoteness. Fr Eusebio Daveri then obtained a more accessible plot of land in 1965 and began construction of a church. On 7 April 1967, it was solemnly blessed by the Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia Irzio Luigi Magliacani, OFM Cap., and dedicated as the Church of the Assumption.^[2]

However, as the number of faithful grew, there was need for a larger church. In 1988, the Church of the Assumption was demolished and replaced with St. Mary's Catholic Church. It was dedicated on 3 November 1989 by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.^[2]

Today St. Mary's Catholic Church has over 350,000 parishioners, making it among the largest churches in the Middle East. Its members are predominately South Asian, Filipino, and African, and masses are held throughout the week in Arabic, English, French, Konkani, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Swahili, Tamil, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Urdu.^[3]

See also

• Roman Catholicism in the United Arab Emirates

References

External links