Translated material
Another Catholic temple will open in the UAE
Half a century after the consecration of the temple of St. Joseph, another Catholic temple will appear in Abu Dhabi. The church, built in the industrial area of the capital (Musapaf), will be consecrated in the name of the Holy Apostle Paul, the Vatican Radio reports.
The opening ceremony of the new temple, which is scheduled for June 11, will be headed by the Minister for Youth, Culture and Collective Development of the UAE Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak al-Ne-Teyan. The event will take place in the presence of Secretary of State Vatican Cardinal Pietro Passoli. The participation of the adviser on the religious issues of Sheikh Ali al-Hamhey, as well as other senior persons and representatives of the Emirates authorities, is expected.
On June 12, the day after the opening ceremony, the consecration of the temple will take place. It is believed that about five thousand believers from the Catholic community of Abu Dhabi, consisting of immigrants of different nationalities, will be present.
As in all countries of the Arabian Peninsula, the pastoral nourishment of the immigrant community is the main task of the mission of pastors living in the Emirates. In this region, the UAE is the state with the largest number of Christians, since foreign workers make up 70% of the total number of residents of the country, more than half of them are baptized. Catholics alone - mainly from India and from the Philippines - there are about a million.
The situation for the local church is favorable - thanks to the policy of the ruling royal family, based on respect for foreign communities located in the UAE, including respect for religion professed by foreigners.
This policy found confirmation in October last year in the speech of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak al-Nahian on the occasion of the opening of a new parish center at the Church of St. Joseph in the capital. Al-Nahian then urged the Catholics to support the emirates in the desire to become a "global nation", in which harmonious coexistence keeps up with economic development.