St. Joseph's Cathedral | |
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St. Joseph's Parish Church | |
24°26′57″N54°23′07″E / 24.449125831605784°N 54.38534929744973°E | |
Location | Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi |
Country | United Arab Emirates |
Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
Religious institute | Order of Friars Minor Capuchin |
Weekly attendance | 100,000+ |
Website | www |
History | |
Status | Cathedral and Parish Church |
Founded |
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Founder(s) | Fr. Barnabas Madii |
Dedication |
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Events | 14 October 2014 (Inauguration of St. Therese Church) |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Groundbreaking |
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Completed |
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Administration | |
Diocese | Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia |
Deanery | United Arab Emirates |
Clergy | |
Bishop(s) | Most Rev. Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap. |
Rector | Rev. Fr. Chito Bunda Bartolo, OFM Cap. |
St. Joseph's Cathedral [1] is the seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia and is one of the five Catholic churches in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi [2] [3] besides St. Paul's Church in Musaffah, St. Mary's Church in Al Ain, St.Francis Church in the Abrahamic Family House in Saadiyat Island and St. John the Baptist Church in Ruwais. [4] The first church was built in 1962 in the present Corniche on a plot of land donated by Sheikh Shakhbut, the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Masses are conducted in various languages, reflecting the population of expatriates in the country, primarily English but also Arabic, German, Tagalog, Spanish, Malayalam, Italian, Sinhalese, Urdu, Konkani, Tamil, and French. [5]
The foundation for St. Joseph's Cathedral was laid in 1962. In October 1963, work began for the First Church in Abu Dhabi, and the foundation stone was blessed in February 1964, on a plot of land along the present Corniche, donated by Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi at that time. Fr. Barnabas Madii undertook the task of constructing the Church and a residence for the priests, and on 19 February 1965, the first church was inaugurated. A school was opened on the same plot in 1967 and was called St Joseph's School.
On 19 March 1981, the foundation for the present church was laid, following the ruler's decision that the Church and its associated schools be moved to a different location. The inauguration of the new complex took place on 25 February 1983, in the presence of Sheikh Shakhbut. On 25 February 1983, the Church became a cathedral serving as the seat of The Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia with the late Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli as resident bishop.
On 30 January 2005, upon Gremoli's retirement, Paul Hinder was ordained as bishop. [6]
The parish today has over 100,000 expatriate Catholics from all over the world. With the growing economy within the region, the Church also witnessed a steady increase in the number of faithful. Masses are celebrated in several different languages, and the church is generally seen packed to full capacity at most services.
The Bishop's House and St Joseph's School are located within the same compound and recently there has been some renovation. [7]
A significant section of the parish complex was demolished at the beginning of 2013 to give way for the construction of new halls/ catechetical rooms/ offices/ residence for priests and staff, Today this newly constructed part is known as St. Therese of The Child Jesus Church. [8]
On 2 July 2022, Msgr. Paolo Martinelli was canonically installed as the Vicar of Southern Arabia in the cathedral as a successor to Msgr. Paul Hinder. [9]
On 5 February 2019, [10] Pope Francis made a private visit to the cathedral. He addressed [11] the people summoned to visit him, mainly consisting of the needy, people of determination and altar servers. He entered the church with the Vicar of Southern Arabia, Paul Hinder. [12]
Name | Term Start | Term End | Image | |
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1 | Barnabas Maddii, OFM Cap. [13] | 1965 | 1969 | |
2 | Attilio Franceschetti, OFM Cap. | 1969 | 1976 | |
3 | Daniele Cerofolini, OFM Cap. | 1976 | 1982 | |
4 | Eusebius Daveri, OFM Cap. | 1982 | 1989 | |
5 | Eugine Mattioli, OFM Cap. [14] | 1989 | 2006 | |
6 | Savarimuthu Anthonysamy, OFM Cap. | 2006 | 2015 | |
7 | Johnson Kadukanmakal, OFM Cap. | 2015 | 2021 | |
8 | Chito Bunda Bartolo, OFM Cap. [15] | 2021 | Incumbent |
Please note that mass times can change on holy days.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he succeeded Sheikh Shakhbut as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, and then as the first president of the United Arab Emirates while he retained his position as Abu Dhabi's ruler from 1971 until his death in 2004. He is revered in the United Arab Emirates as the Waalid al-Ummah, credited for being the principal driving force behind uniting seven emirates.
The Catholic Church in the United Arab Emirates is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia is an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction for Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Jebel Ali Church or Church of St. Francis of Assisi is a Roman Catholic church in the Churches Complex, Jebel Ali Village, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
St Joseph's School (SJS) is a primary to secondary school in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and is next to St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi.
According to the 2005 census, Christians accounted for 9 percent of the total population of the United Arab Emirates; estimates in 2010 suggested a figure of 12.6%.
Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. Abu Dhabi is the UAE's second-most populous city after Dubai.
Holy See – United Arab Emirates relations are the foreign relations between the Holy See and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The earliest form of contact between officials of both states was when the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, unofficially met Pope John Paul II in the 1980s. Relations between the two were not established until 31 May 2007. According to a Vatican communiqué, the diplomatic arrangement was founded on a desire to promote “bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international cooperation.
Paul Hinder, OFMCap is a Swiss Catholic bishop. He is the Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Bishop Hinder was previously appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop in the former Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia on 30 January 2004.
Musaffah Port is an Abu Dhabi Ports' port located in the industrial area of Musaffah south west of the city of Abu Dhabi. The deepwater Musaffah Port and Musaffah Channel include a general cargo terminal at the northwest corner of the Musaffah Industrial Area, as well as an extensive waterfront nearly 40 km long that is occupied by numerous private berths and terminals. It's the city's second port after the establishment of Location Zayed Port in 1972.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The St. Paul's Church is a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church which is located in the area of Mussafah in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Its importance is that it is the second Catholic church to be built in the emirate since 1965 when the St. Joseph Cathedral was built.
The St. Francis of Assisi Church or the Proto-Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, or simply Church of St. Francis, is a religious building that is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the city of Aden, in the Asian country of Yemen.
Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Italy, Gremoli was ordained to the priesthood in 1951. Gremoli served as titular bishop of Masuccaba and was Vicar Apostolic of Arabia from 1976 to 2005. During this time, he spent a lot of time in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi and he is one of the people credited with establishing the presence of the Catholic church in the Arabian Peninsula. He was succeeded by Paul Hinder.
Andrew Thompson is an English Anglican priest, who has done extensive religious work with churches throughout the Middle East and North Africa region, currently based at St. Margaret's Church in Uxbridge, London Diocese. He is also an author, magician, and interfaith activist.
The Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia was an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction for Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The last Apostolic Vicar is Msgr. Paul Hinder, OFM Cap.
Eugene Mattioli OFM Cap. is an Italian missionary, who was the longest serving Catholic missionary in Arabia and completed 60 years of service in the Vicariate and retired on 30 June 2018. He is one of the people credited with establishing the presence of the Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus Church, Abu Dhabi(commonly known as St. Therese Church) is a Catholic church located in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. It is a part of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, and is a church within the Parish of St. Joseph's Church. The newly reconstructed St. Joseph's Parish Centre, which includes the St. Therese Church, was blessed during a ceremony on December 14, 2013. The church is named after St. Therese of Lisieux, also known as "The Little Flower," a French Catholic saint and Doctor of the Church who is revered for her humility and devotion to God.
St. Francis Church is a church on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The church is part of the Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex that includes a mosque, a synagogue and a church, built with the aim of promoting Interfaith dialogue. The church is named after St. Francis of Assisi.