Thousands celebrate cathedral’s gold jubilee

Catholic leaders give thanks and pray for UAE’s rulers, voicing hope that peace among all faiths will endure in the country.

Priests celebrate the golden jubilee of St Joseph’s Cathedral in Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi. Ravindranath K / The National

ABU DHABI // Thousands of people from all walks of life and cultures gathered on Thursday night at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Al Mushrif for a mass to celebrate its golden jubilee.

Prayers were said for Sheikh Khalifa, the President, and the country’s rulers who permitted the construction of churches in the country and for the country’s policy of religious tolerance.

“I am so elated to be part of this parish for the past 35 years,” said Joyce Rego, from India, an assistant coordinator for the church’s catechism programme.

“I was a member of the choir when the church was built on the Corniche, and also worked as a parish council member and a communion minister.”

The cathedral was established in 1965 on the Corniche when Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan granted about 11 acres of land to the Catholic Church.

In 1983, Sheikh Zayed, the Founding President, donated the land in the Mushrif area, where Bishop Bernard Gremoli built the present church.

“It’s an occasion for us to express our gratitude to God Almighty, to Sheikh Shakhbut, Sheikh Zayed and now Sheikh Khalifa, and to the people of the UAE who have accepted that we can live here with this freedom of worship,” said Bishop Paul Hinder, the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, who has lived in the UAE for 11 years.

“Nowadays we can be happy to have this security, freedom and peace which allow us not only to practise our faith but to feel at home and a sense of community. Despite the conflicts in the region, I am very confident that it will remain an island of peace.”

Don Fox, a deacon at St Joseph’s Cathedral who has been in the UAE for five years, said the growth of the UAE and the church had been phenomenal.

“To celebrate 50 years, and to see St Joseph’s Parish Centre, the new church being built in Mussaffah, and the consecration of the Ras Al Khaimah church two years ago, we’re just blessed that we have such wonderful hosts that allow us to celebrate our faith,” he said.

The event coincides with the Feast of the Patron Saint of the parish, St Joseph.

“We are called today to be instruments of peace and I hope we can all learn from St Joseph,” Bishop Hinder said.

St Joseph is known for his humility, chastity, obedience, prudence and love for his family.

“I believe that we are called to give Jesus a home in our hearts, in our families, in the community of this country and to be instruments of peace,” he said. “I hope we can continue to live among different Christian denominations and Islam, being the dominant religion, with mutual understanding and peace.”

Bishop Hinder officiated the mass along with Rev Fr Savarimuthu, the parish priest, and other priests.

The UAE is home to about 900,000 Catholics. St Joseph’s Cathedral has 150,000 expatriates from about 90 countries.