The new Cathedral is the fruit of the perseverance, patience, and apostolic passion of Archbishop Camillo Ballin, a Comboni Missionary who died at the age of 75 on April 12, 2020.
Newsroom (28/11/2021 10:25 AM Gaudium Press) The Cathedral of the Kingdom of Bahrain, located in Awali Municipality, will be consecrated and dedicated to Our Lady of Arabia on December 10, becoming one of the main Catholic churches in the Arabian Peninsula, the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia.
Consecration ceremony of the new Catholic Cathedral in Bahrain
The ceremony will be presided over by the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Although the new cathedral in Bahrain has a capacity of 2300 people, only a small number of representatives of the local Catholic community will be able to participate in the consecration ceremony, because of the pandemic. The day before, His Majesty Hamad bin Isa al Kalifa, King of Bahrain, is expected to attend the civil inauguration of the place of worship.
The new Cathedral is the fruit of the perseverance, patience, and apostolic passion of Archbishop Camillo Ballin, a Comboni Missionary who died at the age of 75 on April 12, 2020, who also served as Vicar Apostolic of North Arabia. In 2013, he disclosed that the King of Bahrain had donated a 9,000 square meter plot of land to the Apostolic Vicariate for the construction of the new church.
Around 80,000 Catholics live in Bahrain
The territory of the Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago consisting of 33 islands near the western coast of the Persian Gulf. Around 80,000 Catholics live in Bahrain, most of them workers from Asia, mainly Filipinos, and Indians.
The consecration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia gains importance in light of King Ahmed bin Isa’s recent official invitation to Pope Francis to visit Bahrain. The monarch sent his good wishes to the Holy Father and expressed his appreciation “for the fundamental and leading role played by Pope Francis in establishing and promoting inter-religious dialogue and understanding among the various cultures and civilizations, as well as in spreading the values of human brotherhood and coexistence among all.” (EPC)
Compiled by Camille Mittermeier
