St. Joseph's Cathedral
St. Joseph's Parish Church
24°26′57″N 54°23′07″E / 24.449125831605784°N 54.38534929744973°E / 24.449125831605784; 54.38534929744973
LocationAl Mushrif, Abu Dhabi
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
Religious instituteOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin
Weekly attendance100,000+
Websitewww.stjosephsabudhabi.org
History
StatusCathedral and Parish Church
Founded
  • 22 June 1963 (1963-06-22) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 16 August 1977 (1977-08-16) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Founder(s)Fr. Barnabas Madii
Dedication
  • 1965 (1965) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 25 February 1983 (1983-02-25) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Events14 October 2014 (2014-10-14) (Inauguration of St. Therese Church)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Groundbreaking
  • 10 February 1964 (1964-02-10) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 19 March 1981 (1981-03-19) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Completed
  • 24 December 1964 (1964-12-24) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 24 December 1982 (1982-12-24) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Administration
DioceseApostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
DeaneryUnited Arab Emirates
Clergy
Bishop(s)Most Rev. Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap.
RectorRev. Fr. Chito Bunda Bartolo, OFM Cap.

St. Joseph's Cathedral[1] is the seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia and is one of the five Catholic churches in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi[2][3] besides St. Paul's Church in Musaffah, St. Mary's Church in Al Ain, St.Francis Church in the Abrahamic Family House in Saadiyat Island and St. John the Baptist Church in Ruwais.[4] The first church was built in 1962 in the present Corniche on a plot of land donated by Sheikh Shakhbut, the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Masses are conducted in various languages, reflecting the population of expatriates in the country, primarily English but also Arabic, German, Tagalog, Spanish, Malayalam, Italian, Sinhalese, Urdu, Konkani, Tamil, and French.[5]

History

The foundation for St. Joseph's Cathedral was laid in 1962. In October 1963, work began for the First Church in Abu Dhabi, and the foundation stone was blessed in February 1964, on a plot of land along the present Corniche, donated by Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the ruler of Abu Dhabi at that time. Fr. Barnabas Madii undertook the task of constructing the Church and a residence for the priests, and on 19 February 1965, the first church was inaugurated. A school was opened on the same plot in 1967 and was called St Joseph's School.

On 19 March 1981, the foundation for the present church was laid, following the ruler's decision that the Church and its associated schools be moved to a different location. The inauguration of the new complex took place on 25 February 1983, in the presence of Sheikh Shakhbut. On 25 February 1983, the Church became a cathedral serving as the seat of The Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia with the late Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli as resident bishop.

On 30 January 2005, upon Gremoli's retirement, Paul Hinder was ordained as bishop.[6]

The parish today has over 100,000 expatriate Catholics from all over the world. With the growing economy within the region, the Church also witnessed a steady increase in the number of faithful. Masses are celebrated in several different languages, and the church is generally seen packed to full capacity at most services.

The Bishop's House and St Joseph's School are located within the same compound and recently there has been some renovation.[7]

A significant section of the parish complex was demolished at the beginning of 2013 to give way for the construction of new halls/ catechetical rooms/ offices/ residence for priests and staff, Today this newly constructed part is known as St. Therese of The Child Jesus Church.[8]

On 2 July 2022, Msgr. Paolo Martinelli was canonically installed as the Vicar of Southern Arabia in the cathedral as a successor to Msgr. Paul Hinder.[9]

Papal visit

On 5 February 2019,[10] Pope Francis made a private visit to the cathedral. He addressed[11] the people summoned to visit him, mainly consisting of the needy, people of determination and altar servers. He entered the church with the Vicar of Southern Arabia, Paul Hinder.[12]

Clergy

Present and past parish priests

Name Term Start Term End Image
1 Barnabas Maddii, OFM Cap.[13] 1965 1969
2 Attilio Franceschetti, OFM Cap. 1969 1976
3 Daniele Cerofolini, OFM Cap. 1976 1982
4 Eusebius Daveri, OFM Cap. 1982 1989
5 Eugine Mattioli, OFM Cap.[14] 1989 2006
6 Savarimuthu Anthonysamy, OFM Cap. 2006 2015
7 Johnson Kadukanmakal, OFM Cap. 2015 2021
8 Chito Bunda Bartolo, OFM Cap.[15] 2021 Incumbent

Mass timing

Sunday Mass

Daily Mass schedule

Monday To Friday

  • 6:30 AM
  • 9:00 AM
  • 7:00 PM

Saturday

Please note that mass times can change on holy days.

References

  1. ↑ Berlitz (27 November 2013). Berlitz: Abu Dhabi Pocket Guide. Apa Publications (UK) Limited. ISBN 9781780047690.
  2. ↑ Guides, Insight (1 December 2015). Insight Guides: Oman & the UAE. Apa Publications (UK) Limited. ISBN 9781780055480.
  3. ↑ Annual Report on International Religious Freedom 2005, April 2006, 109-2 Joint Committee Print, *. 1 January 2006.
  4. ↑ Binsal Abdul Kader, Staff Reporter. "Catholics in Abu Dhabi get new church in Musaffah". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Mass Times". St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Malayalam Catholic Community Abu Dhabi Archived 2012-06-27 at the Wayback Machine retrieved April 29, 2012
  7. ↑ "::: St Joseph's Cathedral :: Abu Dhabi, UAE :::". www.stjosephsabudhabi.org. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "St Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi, UAE". www.stjosephsabudhabi.org. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Installation Mass of Bishop Paolo Martinelli as the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia". Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Papal visit: Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi to mark a historic day for inter-faith relations - as it happened". The National. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "Visit to St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi" (PDF). The Visit of Pope Francis to the United Arab Emirates: 1.
  12. ↑ "Apostolic Journey of the Holy Father to the United Arab Emirates (3-5 February 2019) | Francis". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "History". St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "Fr. Eugene Mattioli OFM Cap. returns to Italy". Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  15. ↑ "Newly Appointed Parish Priest - St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi". St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  16. ↑ "St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi". St. Joseph's Cathedral Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
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