A new church in the Arabian Gulf

A few days ago, the Kingdom of Bahrain marked the inauguration of a new church considered as one of the largest in the Gulf region and the Arab countries. The cathedral was called "Our Lady of the Arabian Peninsula" in reference to the Virgin Mary and prior to the celebration of the birth of Lord Jesus Christ.

The inauguration of the Church was held under the patronage of King of Bahrain Hamad Ibn Isa Al Khalifa on behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis and in the presence of Cardinal Louis Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, who conveyed a written message from the Pope to the King of Bahrain.

What is interesting in this regard is that this Church is built on a land donated by the king of Bahrain on February 11, 2013. During King Hamad’s visit to Pope Francis on May 19, 2014, he showed the Pope a model of this church. The foundation stone, taken from St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, was laid at the end of the same month marking the start of the construction project.

The inauguration ceremony was held on two successive days. The first one was a national official one held under the patronage of King Hamad last Thursday, during which official speeches were given and gratitude was extended to everyone who contributed to building on  this land, especially the benefactors who made donations from Bahrain and the Gulf, and from friendly countries to help build this church, which was erected on a 9,000 square meter piece of land, can accommodate 2,300 people, and is surrounded by squares that can accommodate 6,000 people.

 The second day marked the inaugural Holy Mass, or the spiritual blessing and the dedication of the temple, which was chaired by Cardinal Louis Tagle, who is considered one of the major and closest associates of Pope Francis.

We view this matter with great significance. In the first place it reflects the atmosphere of tolerance and religious freedom that existed in the Arab Gulf states for a long time. We also notice that this “race” among the Gulf states has become noticeable which is a positive thing. The United Arab Emirates, for example, established the Ministry of Tolerance and the Year of Tolerance during which it hosted Pope Francis, who signed with the Sheikh of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together. Since 2018, the State of Bahrain established the King Hamad Global Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, and the Emirate of Qatar has a Center for Interfaith Dialogue in Doha, while the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established  the King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue headquartered in Vienna, Austria, which has been moved weeks ago to Lisbon, Portugal. Therefore, an atmosphere of tolerance has prevailed in the Gulf countries. This encourages religious pluralism that prevails in these countries which host thousands of expatriates who work sincerely in the service of the societies of these brotherly Arab countries.

When one feels that religious freedom is safeguarded, then one has plenty of thought and decision to serve and to devote all energies and talents, which God grants to humans, in order to serve the entire humanity. 

Congratulations to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Congratulations to the Arab Gulf countries of the Gulf and  to the Arab homeland which adds a new star to its luminous stars from the houses of worship that call for the love of God and the neighbors.