Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia

The Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate located in the United Arab Emirates. It is a territorial jurisdiction of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church covering the following countries of the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, an area of over 1.2 million square miles. There are Catholic parishes in all these countries with the exception of Saudi Arabia, where the public practice of non-Islamic religions is forbidden. The current superior of the vicariate is the Swiss born Bishop Paul Hinder OFM Cap. It was established in 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden and changed to its present name in 1889. The See of the jurisdiction was in Aden until 1973, when it was transferred to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. [ [http://www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/mideast.htm Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia] , url accessed September 10, 2006] Since 1916 it has been in the care of the Capuchins of Florence.

History

Formerly part of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gallas, the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia was formed as a prefecture by Pope Pius IX on January 21, 1875. It was made into a vicariate Apostolic on April 25, 1888, by Pope Leo XIII as the Vicariate Apostolic of Aden, located in Yemen. On the 28th of June, 1889 the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia. On June 29, 1953, the Prefecture Apostolic of Kuwait was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia.

The vicariate is governed by the Capuchin friars, though Franciscan sisters have also been involved, especially in the beginning. [ [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01674a.htm CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia ] ]

tatistics

Population

* Total population as of 2004: 47,760,669
* Total Catholic population as of 2004: 1,300,500 (2.7% of the whole)
* Parishes: 20
* Total priests (diocesan and religious): 45
* Catholics per priest: 28,900

Ordinaries

* Louis-Callixte Lasserre, O.F.M. Cap. † ( 1886 Appointed - Apr 1900 Resigned)
* Bernard Thomas Edward Clark † (21 Mar 1902 Appointed - 18 Jun 1910 Appointed, Bishop of Port Victoria o Seychelles)
* Raffaele Presutti, O.F.M. Cap. † (13 Sep 1910 Appointed - 1915 Died)
* Evangelista Latino Enrico Vanni, O.F.M. Cap. † (15 Apr 1916 Appointed - 1925 Resigned)
* Pacifico Tiziano Micheloni, O.F.M. Cap. † (25 Apr 1933 Appointed - 6 Jul 1936 Died)
* Giovanni Tirinnanzi, O.F.M. Cap. † (2 Jul 1937 Appointed - 27 Jan 1949 Died)
* Irzio Luigi Magliacani, O.F.M. Cap. † (25 Dec 1949 Appointed - 1969 Retired)
* Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli, O.F.M. Cap. (2 Oct 1975 Appointed - 21 Mar 2005 Retired)
* Paul Hinder, O.F.M. Cap. (21 Mar 2005 Appointed - ) [ [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/darab.html Arabia (Vicariate Apostolic) [Catholic-Hierarchy ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/mideast.htm Website of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia]
* [http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=1436 Interview with Mgr Paul Hinder about Catholicism in the region]
* [http://www.gcatholic.com/dioceses/diocese/arab0.htm Giga-Catholic Information]