Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia Apostolicus Vicariatus Arabiae Septentrionalis النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية | |
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| Location | |
| Country | Kuwait Bahrain Qatar Saudi Arabia |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 2,179,846 km2 (841,643 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2020) 43,463,583 2,722,000[1] (6.3%) |
| Churches | 11 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite, Maronite, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Coptic Catholic |
| Established | 29 June 1953 (As Prefecture Apostolic of Kuwait) 2 December 1954 (As Apostolic Vicariate of Kuwait) 31 May 2011 (As Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia) |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Bahrain |
| Co-cathedral | Holy Family Co-Cathedral, Kuwait |
| Patroness | Our Lady of Arabia |
| Secular priests | 54 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Apostolic Vicar | Aldo Berardi OSsT |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| Website of the Apostolic Vicariate | |
Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia | |
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| Catholic | |
| Incumbent: Aldo Berardi, OSsT Ordained on 18 March 2023 | |
| Information | |
| First holder | Camillo Ballin MCCJ |
| Established | 2011 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Bahrain |
| Co-cathedral | Holy Family Co-Cathedral, Kuwait |
The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Septentrionalis) (Arabic: النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية) is an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The vicar apostolic of the vicariate is Bishop Aldo Berardi OSsT.[2] It was first established in 1953 (as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kuwait) and took its current name in 2011.
The apostolic vicariate is led by a vicar apostolic, who is usually a titular bishop. While such a territory can be classed as a particular Church, according to canon 371.1 of the Latin Code of Canon Law, a vicar apostolic's jurisdiction is an exercise of the jurisdiction of the Pope – the territory comes directly under the Pope as "universal bishop", and the vicariate come directly under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, where the pope exercises this authority through a "vicar".[3] This is unlike the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, whose jurisdiction derives directly from his office.
The see of the apostolic vicar is in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain, with a co-cathedral, the Holy Family Co-Cathedral, located in Kuwait City which was the former seat of the vicariate.
- ^ gcatholic. "Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia". gcatholic.org. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "The Vicariates of the Arabian Peninsula: Introduction". The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Scudder, Lewis R. (1998). The Arabian Mission's Story: In Search of Abraham's Other Son. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-4616-7.