Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (Doha)

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The Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (Arabic: كنيسة سيدة المسبحة) is a Catholic church in Doha, Qatar. It is located, along with churches of other Christian denominations, at the Religious Complex in Abu Hamour.[1] It is the first church built in the country since the Muslim conquests in the 7th century.[2][3]

Construction and dedication

The church was constructed at a cost of around $20 million on land donated by the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.[4] Due to the laws in Islamic Qatar, the church displays no Christian symbols like crosses, bells, or a steeple on its exterior.[5]

The church was dedicated on 14 March 2008, by Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation,[6] in a ceremony attended by Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah; Archbishop Mounged Al Hachem, the ambassador of the Holy See to the Gulf; Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia; Archbishop Giuseppe Andrea, former nuncio of the Holy See to the region; and several Qatari officials.[7][8]

Congregation and jurisdiction

The church is part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia and serves around 200,000 Catholics in Qatar,[1] most of them migrant workers from the Philippines, India, South America, Africa, Lebanon and Europe.[1][9][10]

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3]Ramesh Mathew (22 February 2014). "Prince Charles visits churches in Abu Hamour". Gulf Times. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. 2.Ayed, Nahlah (2008-03-21). "Faith in the desert: Qatar's first official Catholic church". CBC News.
  3. 3.Murphy, Caryle (2009-02-09). "For the first time, Christians in Qatar worship in church". The Christian Science Monitor.
  4. 4.Khatri, Shabina S. (2008-06-20). "Qatar opens first church, quietly". Al Jazeera English.
  5. 5.Verma, Sonia (14 March 2008). "First Catholic Church Opens in Qatar, Sparking Fear of Backlash Against Christians". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008.
  6. 6.AsiaNews.it. "15 thousand attend first mass in Doha church". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  7. 7."First Christian church opens in Qatar". USA Today. Associated Press. 15 March 2008.
  8. 8."First Catholic Church in Arabic country to be dedicated to Mary". Catholic News Agency. 29 February 2008.
  9. 9."Re-Organisation of the Vicariates of the Arabian Peninsula". Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia.
  10. 10."First church in Qatar has low profile". United Press International. 2008-03-14.