About1500 years after the martyrdom of 4,000 Christians – including Saint Arethas and his companions – during the persecutions of the sixth century in pre-Islamic Arabia, the Pope is granting a plenary indulgence from October 24 of this year until the same date next year.
Newsroom(22/10/2023 19:15, Gaudium Press) The two Vicars Apostolic Monsignor Aldo Berardi and Monsignor Paolo Martinelli will open the Holy Doors in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. The Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula is celebrating the 1500th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Arethas and other martyrs, killed during the anti-Christian persecution in 523 in Najran, pre-Islamic Arabia. To commemorate this martyrdom, an extraordinary jubilee has been declared in the Apostolic Vicariates of North and South Arabia, with the possibility of obtaining a plenary indulgence for one year from October 24 this year, granted by Pope Francis through a decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Opening of the Holy Doors
The solemn opening Mass of the Jubilee will be presided over on November 4 by Monsignor Aldo Berardi, Vicar Apostolic of North Arabia, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain, exactly one year after Pope Francis’ visit to that country. The Mass will be preceded by the opening ceremony of the Holy Door.
Paolo Martinelli, Vicar Apostolic of South Arabia, will open the Holy Door at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi.
The Martyrdom of Saint Aretas and His Companions
Saint Arethas, born in 427, was governor of the ancient Christian city of Najran, in southern Arabia. After converting to Judaism, the king of Himyar (in present-day Yemen), Dhu Nuwas, undertook a violent persecution of Christians, burning churches, forcing people to convert and killing those who refused to renounce the Christian faith.
After conquering Najran, Dhu Nuwas ordered priests, deacons, nuns and lay people to be thrown into a pit and burned alive. Men and women, young and old, were killed indiscriminately. Saint Arethas, then 95, and a hundred Christians were beheaded in 523. More than 4,000 people were martyred during this persecution, killed “for their unshakeable faith in Christ crucified”, according to a press release from the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia.
With information from Vatican News
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
