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The Catholic Church in Bahrain is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
The first Catholic church built in the Persian Gulf in modern times was constructed in 1939 on land given by the Emir of Bahrain.[1] Sacred Heart Church serves approximately 140,000 Catholics.[2] Bahrain established diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 1999.[3]
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia located in Awali is the largest Catholic church in the Arabian Peninsula. The land for the church is being provided by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa due to a request from Pope Benedict XVI in December 2008, and will cover 9,000 square meters.[1]
Bahrain forms part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. The seat of the vicariate is in Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia. The Vicar Apostolic Bishop is Aldo Berardi.
- ^ a b "Plan for Catholic church makes waves in Bahrain". Associated Press. 14 October 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
awaliwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Habib Toumi (26 December 2008). "Bahrain will donate land to build new Catholic church". The Gulf News. Retrieved 11 February 2013.