| St. Francis of Assisi Church | |
|---|---|
كنيسة القديس فرنسيس الأسيزي | |
 | |
| Location | Aden |
| Country | Yemen |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic Church |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap. |
The St. Francis of Assisi Church[1][2] (Arabic: كنيسة القديس فرنسيس الأسيزي) or the Proto-Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, or simply Church of St. Francis,[3] is a religious building that is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the city of Aden, in the Asian country of Yemen.[4][5]
The term "proto-cathedral" in its name is used to refer to a church which was previously the cathedral of the see of a bishop. In the case of this particular proto-cathedral, it served as the cathedral of what is currently known as the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia from 1892 until 1974, when the Vicariate's seat was transferred to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Currently, the Church of St. Francis has the status of parish church.
Its structure remains but has deteriorated considerably.
The statue of Christ blessing the sea has been attacked several times but remains in place. When the British ruled the region, next to the church it worked a School only for boys (School of St. Anthony) but then the Yemeni government appropriated the school and built a wall between the temple and school.
- ^ Church of St. Francis in Aden
- ^ "Parishes in Yemen - Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia - Abu Dhabi". avosa.org. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "BIS :: Directory Houses". donboscoindia.com. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "The Catholic Directory - Catholic Churches in Aden, Yemen". www.thecatholicdirectory.com. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ Hämäläinen, Pertti (1999-01-01). Yemen. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9780864426031.