St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai

Coordinates: 25°14′26″N 55°19′03″E / 25.24049643123643°N 55.31759406555784°E

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St. Mary's Catholic Church


25°14′26″N 55°19′03″E / 25.24049643123643°N 55.31759406555784°E
Country	United Arab Emirates
Denomination	Catholic (Roman rite)
Religious institute	Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
Website	Official website
History
Former name(s)	St Mary of the Assumption Parish
Dedicated	3 November 1989; 35 years ago (1989-11-03)
Associated people	ca. 350,000
Architecture
Completed	3 November 1989; 35 years ago (1989-11-03)
Demolished	1988; 36 years ago (1988)
Administration
Diocese	Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
Deanery	United Arab Emirates
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Paolo Martinelli
Rector	Fr. Lennie J.A. Connully, O.F.M.Cap.

St. Mary's Catholic Church is a parish church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. As one of only two Catholic churches in Dubai, St. Mary's has grown to become the largest Catholic parish in the world thanks to immigration from Catholic communities abroad.^[1]

History

Initially, Catholics in the United Arab Emirates were served by a priest based in Bahrain, but eventually there was need for a resident priest. Prime Minister Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum initially granted a plot of land but it was unusable due to its remoteness. Fr Eusebio Daveri then obtained a more accessible plot of land in 1965 and began construction of a church. On 7 April 1967, it was solemnly blessed by the Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia Irzio Luigi Magliacani, OFM Cap., and dedicated as the Church of the Assumption.^[2]

However, as the number of faithful grew, there was need for a larger church. In 1988, the Church of the Assumption was demolished and replaced with St. Mary's Catholic Church. It was dedicated on 3 November 1989 by Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.^[2]

Today St. Mary's Catholic Church has over 350,000 parishioners, making it among the largest churches in the Middle East. Its members are predominately Filipino, South Asian, and African, and masses are held throughout the week in Arabic, English, French, Konkani, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Swahili, Tamil, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Urdu.^[3]

References

^ Cimino, Richard (9 January 2013). "Emirates: world's largest Catholic parish activates its laity in Islamic Dubai". english.religion.info.
^ ^a ^b "History". St. Mary's Catholic Church.
^ "Mass Schedule". St. Mary's Catholic Church.

External links

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Dubai

History	Trucial States House of Maktoum Bani Yas
Geography	Bur Dubai Deira Deira Corniche Dubai Creek Hatta
Government	Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dubai Police Force Dubai Municipality
Education	List of schools in Dubai American University in Dubai Dubai Men's College Dubai Women's College Birla Institute of Technology and Science Zayed University SP Jain Center of Management
Religion	Grand Mosque Hindu Temple St. Mary's Catholic Church Churches Complex St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church United Christian Church of Dubai
Demographics	Emiratis Afro-Emiratis Expatriates Indians Pakistanis List of people from Dubai

Towns
Buildings
Places
Structures

Towns	Dubai Al Aweer
Buildings and structures	List of buildings in Dubai List of tallest buildings in Dubai 21st Century Tower Burj Al Arab Burj Khalifa Chelsea Tower Dubai Frame Dubai World Trade Centre Emirates Towers
Parks	Mushrif Park Safa Park Zabeel Park
Real estate	Palm Islands The World Dubai Islands Dubai Marina Dubai Waterfront Business Bay Dubailand Bawadi Dubai South Dubai Festival City Jumeirah Beach Residence Palm Jumeirah Palm Jebel Ali
Bridges and tunnels	Al Shindagha Tunnel Al Maktoum Bridge Floating Bridge Al Garhoud Bridge Business Bay Crossing Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Crossing

Economy
Trade
Commerce

Trade and commerce	Al-Ghurair Group Art Emaar Du Dubai Gold Souk / Spice Souk Dubai Holding Dubai Ports World Etisalat Waterfront Market
Ports	Port Rashid Jebel Ali Al Hamriya Port Port Saeed
Free zones	Dubai International Financial Centre Dubai Internet City Dubai Knowledge Village Dubai Media City Dubai Production City Dubai Silicon Oasis Jebel Ali
Shopping malls	BurJuman Ibn Battuta Mall Deira City Centre Dubai Mall Dubai Marina Mall Mall of the Emirates

Transport

Transport	Al Maktoum International Airport Dubai International Airport Abra Dubai Metro Red Line Green Line Dubai Tram Dubai Trolley Dubai Water Canal Emirates Airlines flydubai Palm Jumeirah Monorail
Routes	E 11 E 311 E 44 E 66 E 77 E 611 D 94 D 92 D 89 D 85 D 75 D 73 D 90

Sister cities
Chennai Detroit Geneva Shanghai Casablanca Frankfurt Guangzhou Osaka Beirut Dundee Gold Coast Moscow Istanbul Damascus Barcelona

Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi	St. Joseph's Cathedral St. Therese Church St. Francis Church St. Paul's Church St. Mary’s Church St. John the Baptist Church
Dubai	St. Mary's Church St. Francis of Assisi Church
Sharjah	St. Michael’s Church
Ras Al Khaimah	St. Anthony of Padua Church
Fujairah	Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church

Oman

Muscat	Sts. Peter and Paul Church Holy Spirit Church
Salalah	St. Francis Xavier Church
Sohar	St. Anthony’s Church

Yemen

Aden	Proto-Cathedral St. Francis of Assisi
Hodeidah	Sacred Heart Church
Sana'a	St. Mary Help of Christians Church
Taiz	St. Therese of the Child Jesus Church

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History

See also

References

External links