St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi

St. Joseph's Cathedral[1][2] is one of the only two Catholic churches in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi[3][4] besides the St. Paul's Church in Musaffah.[5] 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, Tagalog, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Urdu, Konkani, Tamil, and French.

History

On March 19, 1981, The Church was relocated to its present location in Abu Dhabi. On February 25, 1983, the Church became a Cathedral serving the Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia with Bishop Bernard G. Gremoli as resident bishop. The jurisdiction of the vicarate consists of the countries of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. On January 30, 2005, upon Gremoli's retirement, Bishop Paul Hinder, OFM Cap., was ordained bishop.[6]

In 2009 the parish had over 100,000 members of over 100 nationalities. The Bishop's House and the school are located within the same compound.

References

  1. ↑ JY Newsletter Feb'2013. Jesus Youth.
  2. ↑ Berlitz (2013-11-27). Berlitz: Abu Dhabi Pocket Guide. Apa Publications (UK) Limited. ISBN 9781780047690.
  3. ↑ Guides, Insight (2015-12-01). Insight Guides: Oman & the UAE. Apa Publications (UK) Limited. ISBN 9781780055480.
  4. ↑ Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005, April 2006, 109-2 Joint Committee Print, *. 2006-01-01.
  5. ↑ Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter. "Catholics in Abu Dhabi get new church in Musaffah". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Malayalam Catholic Community Abu Dhabi retrieved April 29, 2012

Coordinates: 24°26′56″N 54°23′07″E / 24.4490°N 54.3854°E / 24.4490; 54.3854

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