A new cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia

The Church of Bahrain and the Gulf recently celebrated the formal start of the construction of the new cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, patron saint of the Arabian Peninsula. The new place of worship, which will meet the needs of the local Catholic community composed mainly of economic migrants and seasonal workers, includes a multifunctional center that can host social, educational and cultural events.

Situated some 20 km from the capital, Manama, the compound will have a church. It will be connected to a building that will be the home to the episcopal curia and include a guest-house, educational and pastoral outreach facilities as well as administrative offices. The land was donated by the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on 10 June, 2020, and construction should be completed by the end of 2021.

The cathedral, under the patronage of Our Lady of Arabia, will be a concrete testimony of the Christian presence in one of the most powerful monarchies of the mostly Muslim Gulf and region. As the country’s second place of Christian worship, the cathedral will be able to accommodate up to 2,000 people and will serve as the see of the Church for the northern Persian Gulf. At Christmas and Easter, the churches of Bahrain also welcome Christians from Saudi Arabia, where every religion other than Islam is banned.

The title of "Our Lady of Arabia" (or "Queen of Arabia"), which might seem recent, goes back to 1948 and was proclaimed by the Reverend Apostolic Administrator of Arabia, to fulfill the prophecy of the Blessed Virgin contained in the Magnificat: "Behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed!" (Luke 1:48).

Few people know that devotion to Our Lady of Arabia began in 1948, on the feast of December 8th (Immaculate Conception). On that day, the chapel in Ahmadi, Kuwait, was consecrated in her honor. The statue of this small shrine was blessed in 1949 at the Vatican by Pope Pius XII. In 1949, the Church of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi was attached to the Papal Basilica of St Mary Major (Liberian Patriarchal Basilica) in Rome, the largest Marian shrine in the world, with the privilege of receiving the same indulgences as for the visit to St Mary Major. H.H. Pope Pius XII, by the pontifical decree Regnum Mariae of January 25, 1957, declared Our Lady of Arabia the principal patroness of the territory and apostolic vicariate of Kuwait.

In early 2007, Archbishop Camillo Ballin, MCCJ, then Vicar Apostolic of Kuwait, asked the Holy See to institute a feast in honor of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Arabia. His prayer and wish were granted when on January 5, 2011, the Holy See officially proclaimed Our Lady of Arabia patroness of the two vicariates of the Arabian Peninsula: the Apostolic Vicariate of Kuwait and the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia. Then, in May 2011, the Holy See reorganized the Vicariate of Kuwait to include, in addition to Kuwait, the territories of Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and renamed it the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia.

This is a time of multiple graces and blessings for all, as the tender patronage of Our Lady of Arabia extends to all the faithful of the Arabian Peninsula, and indeed the entire world, so that we may renew the praises of Our Heavenly Mother, and foster a more fervent devotion to her, for the spiritual benefit of all mankind.

Adapted from Asia News