The Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. There are nearly 1,000,000 expatriates in the UAE who are Catholics, representing around 11% of the total population, largely from the

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India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, South America,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

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and other parts of

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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

Paul Hinder Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

Visit of Pope Francis to UAE

In June 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

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 and was greeted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the

UAE Armed Forces The United Arab Emirates Armed Forces ( ar, القوات المسلحة لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة, Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa li-Dawlat al-ʾImārāt al-ʿArabīyyah al-Muttaḥidah) are the armed forces of the Unit ...

and then

Ahmad al-Tayyeb Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb ( ar, أحمد محمد أحمد الطيب) (born 6 January 1946) is an Egyptian Islamic scholar and the current Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Al-Azhar Al Sharif and former president of al-Azhar University. He was appo ...

, Grand Imam of

Al Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

, 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. On 4 February, the Pope attended the Interfaith Meeting, 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 The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque ( ar, جَامِع ٱلشَّيْخ زَايِد ٱلْكَبِيْر, Jāmiʿ Ash-Shaykh Zāyid Al-Kabīr) is located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The largest mosque in the countr ...

, 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 Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

in front of a large crowd, estimated at 180,000, at Zayed Sports City. Elements of the 90-minute service were conducted in

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Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Tagalog,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

, Konkani and

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

. The

Papal Mass A Papal Mass is the Solemn Pontifical High Mass celebrated by the Pope. It is celebrated on such occasions as a papal coronation, an ''ex cathedra'' pronouncement, the canonization of a saint, on Easter or Christmas or other major feast days. ...

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

There are currently 9 Catholic churches in the UAE: * St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi * St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai * St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Jebel Ali *

St. Michael's Catholic Church, Sharjah St. Michael's Church in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, is a Roman Catholic church situated in Halwan Suburb of Al Yarmook area of Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city i ...

* St. Mary's Catholic Church, Al Ain * St. Paul's Catholic Church,

Musaffah Muṣaffah ( ar, مُصَفَّح) or Musaffah is an industrial district to the southwest of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Also known as ''Muṣaffah Aṣ-Ṣanāʿiyah'' ( ar, مُصّفَّح ٱلصّنَاعِيَة), it is one of the mo ...

* St. Anthony of Padua Church,

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْخَيْمَة, historically Julfar) is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth-largest city in UAE after Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain ...

* Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church,

Fujairah Fujairah City ( ar, الفجيرة) is the capital of the emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. It is the seventh-largest city in UAE, located on the Gulf of Oman (part of the Indian Ocean). It is the only Emirati capital city on the ...

* St. John the Baptist Catholic Church,

Ruwais ''Ar-Ruwais'' ( ar, ٱلـرُّوَيْـس, lit=The Small head) is a city located some west of Abu Dhabi City, in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. "Al Ruwais" is largely dropped in relation to the Ruwais Refinery and other i ...

* Sub Centres in

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

, Khorfakkan,

Dibba Dibbā ( ar, دِبَّا) is a coastal area at the northern tip of the eastern Arabian peninsula on the Gulf of Oman. Political administration Dibba is politically divided into three segments: * Dibba Al-Fujairah, ruled by the Emirate of Fu ...

and

Madinat Zayed , settlement_type = , translit_lang1_type = , translit_lang1_info = , image_skyline = File:Madinat Zayed - United Arab Emirates 1 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_coat ...

References

{{Asia topic, Christianity in

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia

Visit of Pope Francis to UAE

Churches in the UAE

See also

References