Catholics in Abu Dhabi get new church

Abu Dhabi: A new church for Catholics has been built on the outskirts of the city. St Paul’s Church in Musaffah industrial area is the second Catholic church in Abu Dhabi, after St Joseph’s Cathedral in Al Mushrif.
Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister for Culture, Youth and Community Development, inaugurated the complex on Thursday in the presence of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State and other dignitaries.
“The new church in Musaffah will be a blessing to many Catholics who travel from the outskirts of the city to attend weekly services in Al Mushrif,” church leaders said.
Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, said the new church is again a shining example of the generosity of the rulers of the UAE.
“We thank the rulers for providing an attractive environment where Christians feel accepted and are able to live their own identity and to practice their religious beliefs.
The mission of the Church is to do everything possible to foster the human capital of the Christian faithful and to make them strong in the pursuit of truth and moral behaviour and thus able to better serve the country.”
The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in the UAE , Oman and Yemen with the seat of the Bishop in Abu Dhabi.
In the UAE alone there are almost 900,000 Catholics. In Abu Dhabi the estimates of Catholics attending weekly services range from 15,000 to 20,000.
Hundreds of Catholics are expected to attend a solemn liturgical event that marks the blessing of the new Church on Friday morning.
The church was built on a 4,560 square metres of land granted by the Municipality of Abu Dhabi in November 2011 as ordered by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The foundation stone was laid on June 29, 2013 and construction started in August 2013.
The church has a seating capacity of 1,200. The church complex houses a multi-purpose hall, residence of priests and staff, and meeting rooms. The installation of the parish priest Father Ani Xavier will be held on Sunday.