Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Doha (Fides Service) - “We are very happy. For years we have been waiting for this moment” local Catholics told Bishop Bernardo Gremoli, Vicar Apostolic for Arabia when he visited them recently and announced that work will soon begin to build the first ever Catholic in Qatar. The church, dedicated to Our Lady Queen of the Rosary, will stand in a residential district of the capital Doha on 21,000 sq. metres of land donated by the Emir of Qatar. Other Christian communities in Qatar Anglican, Copt, Orthodox and some Indian Christian denominations also received land on which to build a place of worship.
Bishop Gremoli and auxiliary Bishop Paul Hinder are at present in Doha almost at the end of a five month pastoral visit to the different countries which belong to the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia. “We were warmly welcomed everywhere. Catholics were happy to see us. We celebrated Mass with them and heard about their joys and troubles. We were met with smiling faces and happy hearts and in turn we offered a message of hope and encouragement in their mission to be witnesses to Christ” Bishop Gremoli told Fides.
The news of the first church in Qatar was also welcomed by Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea, Papal Nuncio in Kuwait. “This is a historic moment, an event of grace for the Church in this part of the world. We are very happy. In 2003 Qatar and the Holy See established relations and the Emir donated the land for the first church. That happened to be the year of the Rosary so it was decided that the church should be dedicated to Our Lady Queen of the Rosary” he told Fides. There are about 60,000 Catholics in Qatar mostly immigrant workers from the Philippines employed in oil and gas companies.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 6/10/2004 Lines: 20 Words: 214)
