Vicariate Apostolic Northern Arabia

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Vicariate Apostolic Northern Arabia
Vicariate Apostolic Map of Northern Arabia
Basic data
Country Bahrain , Qatar , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia
Apostolic Vicar Sedis vacancy
Apostolic Administrator Paul Hinder
Vicar General Mathews Kunnepurayidom Francis OCD
founding June 29, 1953
surface 2,179,846 km²
Parishes 11 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
Residents 36,335,000 ( 12/31/2014 / AP2016 )
Catholics 2,452,000 ( 12/31/2014 / AP2016 )
proportion of 6.7%
Diocesan priest 12 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
Religious priest 43 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
Catholics per priest 44,582
Permanent deacons 2 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
Friars 44 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
Religious sisters 18 (December 31, 2014 / AP2016 )
rite Roman rite
Liturgical language Arabic
cathedral Holy Family in Kuwait City
address Bahrain (since 2012)
Website www.avona.org
Coat of arms of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia

The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia ( Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiae Septentrionalis ) is a Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate based in Manama in Bahrain (since 2012), formerly Kuwait , and includes the Arab states of Bahrain, Qatar , Kuwait and Saudi Arabia .

history

The forerunner of today's Apostolic Vicariate Northern Arabia is on June 29, 1953 by Pius XII. Apostolic Prefecture of Kuwait founded out of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia . With 17,900 km² it covered the state of Kuwait, in which the first Carmelite mission station was built in 1945 and a church was built in 1948 for 700 believers. On December 2, 1954, Pope Pius XII. the elevation to the Apostolic Vicariate Kuwait ( Apostolicus Vicariatus Kuvaitensis ). Pope Benedict XVI founded on May 31, 2011 by renaming what is today the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia . At the same time, the areas of Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were added to the Vicariate Apostolic.

today

The bishop of the vicariate mainly looks after international Christians who are professionally active in the Arab oil states, especially Roman Catholic migrant workers from the Philippines, India and Bangladesh. Their numbers in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are estimated at 1.3 million. There are also all oriental ritual churches in Arabia, for example Maronites from Lebanon or Syro-Malabars and Syro-Malankars from India.

As a leading Christian pastor in exclusively Muslim countries, the recently deceased apostolic vicar, Bishop Camillo Ballin , was largely tied in terms of social criticism (e.g. regarding the working conditions of foreign employees) at the risk of expulsion.

The current situation of Christians in many Arab states , especially in Saudi Arabia, is bad. There it is still forbidden to build churches and hold non- Muslim worship services (see under: Persecution of Christians ). Pope Benedict XVI and King Abdullah ibn Abd al-Aziz started negotiations in 2007 to establish the kingdom's first Catholic Church.

In August 2012 the headquarters were moved from Kuwait to Bahrain . In June 2018 , the foundation stone for the future cathedral was laid in the small town of Awali, south of Manama , under the patronage of “ Our Lady of Arabia”.

After the death of Bishop Camillo Ballin in mid-April 2020, Paul Hinder took over the leadership of the Vicariate for Northern Arabia with Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia at the request of Pope Francis until further notice.

Parishes

There are four parishes in Kuwait:

  • the Holy Family Cathedral in Kuwait City under the direction of Gaspar Fernandes OFMCap (* 1972)
  • The Our Lady of Arabia in Al Ahmadi under the direction of Alfredo Guran Micua OFMCap (* 1950)
  • the St. Thérèse in Salmiya, led by Blany Pinto SDB (born 1967)
  • the St. Daniel Comboni in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh under the direction of Mathai (Mathew) Madathikunnel OFMCap (* 1969)

There are two churches in Bahrain. The Sacred Heart Church in Manama , built in 1939, is the oldest Catholic church in the Persian Gulf and is under the direction of Dinesh Mendonca OFMCap (* 1947). The second church is in Awali and is shared with the Anglican Church as a simultaneous church . This parish church is under the patronage of Our Lady of the Visitation .

In Qatar there has been a church complex in Doha since 2008 with the Roman Catholic Church Our Lady of the Rosary under the direction of Father Selvaraj Arockiam OFMCap.

Churches and parishes are banned in Saudi Arabia and Christian worship services are not allowed.

Vicars Apostolic

statistics

year population priest Permanent
deacons 		Religious Parishes
Catholics Residents % Total number Diocesan priest Religious priest Catholics per priest male Female
1966 16,000 475,000 3.4 4th 4th 4,000 3 12 5
1970 17,200 733.196 2.3 12 6th 6th 1,433 6th 31 4th
1980 32,000 1,270,000 2.5 7th 3 4th 4,571 4th 30th 3
1988 51,430 1,834,756 2.8 7th 2 5 7,347 5 30th 5
1999 151,000 2,000,000 7.5 6th 1 5 25.166 1 5 12 4th
2000 151,000 2,000,000 7.5 7th 1 6th 21,571 1 6th 13 4th
2001 153,000 2,000,000 7.7 8th 2 6th 19,125 1 6th 13 4th
2002 154,000 2,500,000 6.2 8th 2 6th 19,250 1 6th 13 4th
2003 156,000 2,501,000 6.2 9 2 7th 17,333 1 7th 13 4th
2004 158,500 2,650,000 6.0 10 2 8th 15,850 1 8th 13 4th
2010 300,000 3,000,000 10.0 17th 6th 11 17,647 1 11 12 3

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The bishop moves his official seat in Arabia , Domradio / kna, August 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ How Benedict XVI Will Make History ( Memento from April 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Church in Need : “A Sign of Good Will”. Laying of the foundation stone of the Catholic Cathedral for Northern Arabia , June 26, 2018, accessed June 28, 2018.
  4. ↑ Mario Galgano: "Bishop Hinder again responsible for all of Arabia" on vaticannews.va of June 6, 2020

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