The St. Francis Xavier Church has been inaugurated in Salalah, in the west of the Sultanate of Oman, south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Francisco Padilla, inaugurated the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Salalah, Oman, on Saturday, September 7, in the presence of Bishop Paul Hinder OFM Cap., Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, and Mr. Ahmed Khamis Masood Al Bahri, director at Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.

Speaking at the event, Archbishop Francisco Padilla, Bishop Paul Hinder and Fr. Antony P., parish priest, expressed their gratitude on behalf of all the Catholics of Oman to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said for the gift of the plot of land on which the present church is situated and the government and civil authorities whose help and cooperation in various ways have made the construction of the church possible.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering the countries of United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen. The present Apostolic Vicar is Bishop Paul Hinder OFM Cap. who hails from Switzerland. The office of the Apostolic Vicar is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.