5/5 GEORGIAN M. 5 months ago on Google
The
Cathedral
of
Our
Lady
of
Arabia
is
a
Roman
Catholic
cathedral
in
Awali,
Bahrain,
dedicated
to
Our
Lady
of
Arabia.
It
serves
as
the
seat
of
the
Apostolic
Vicar
of
Northern
Arabia.
It
was
inaugurated
on
9
December
2021
by
His
Majesty
Hamad
bin
Isa
Al
Khalifa,
the
King
of
Bahrain.
It
is
the
largest
Catholic
church
in
the
Arabian
Peninsula.
Masses
are
conducted
in
various
languages,
reflecting
the
population
of
expatriates
in
the
country,
primarily
English
but
also
Arabic,
Tagalog,
Malayalam,
and
Konkani.
In
a
gesture
of
religious
tolerance,
on
11
February
2013,
His
Majesty
King
Hamad
bin
Isa
bin
Salman
Al-Khalifa
donated
9,000
square
metres
(97,000
sq
ft)
of
land
for
the
cathedral.
On
May
19,
2014,
King
Hamad
bin
Isa
bin
Salman
Al-Khalifa
met
with
Pope
Francis
at
the
Apostolic
Palace
in
the
Vatican
and
presented
a
scale
model
of
the
largest
church
that
would
be
built
in
the
Arabian
Peninsula,
as
a
symbol
of
the
Kingdom's
commitment
to
tolerance
and
coexistence.
The
construction
work
began
on
May
31,
2014,
after
the
Blessing
of
the
Foundation
Stone.
The
foundation
stone
was
taken
from
the
Holy
Door
of
the
Papal
Basilica
of
St.
Peter's
in
the
Vatican;
it
was
gifted
to
the
faithful
of
Arabia
as
a
sign
of
profound
union
with
the
See
of
Rome.
The
ground-breaking
ceremony
was
held
on
June
10,
2018,
in
the
presence
of
the
Vicar
Apostolic,
Camillo
Ballin;
the
Papal
Nuncio,
Francisco
Padilla;
and
officials
of
the
Kingdom
of
Bahrain.
Following
the
death
of
Monsignor
Ballin
on
April
12,
2020,
the
construction
was
overseen
by
Msgr.
Paul
Hinder,
whom
Pope
Francis
appointed
as
the
Apostolic
Administrator
of
Northern
Arabia.
The
design
of
the
cathedral
was
created
by
the
Italian
designer
and
architect
Mattia
Del
Prete
and
Cristiano
Rosponi.
Its
shape
resembles
that
of
a
tent,
alluding
to
the
"tent
of
meeting"
or
tabernacle
in
which
the
presence
of
God
was
manifested
to
the
prophet
Moses
as
described
in
the
Old
Testament.The
cathedral
has
a
seating
capacity
of
2300,
with
two
chapels
and
two
large
rooms
with
cubicles
for
confessions.
The
roof
of
the
cathedral
has
an
octagonal
dome.
In
one
of
the
chapels
is
revealed
the
patroness
of
the
Apostolic
Vicariate
of
Northern
Arabia,
"Our
Lady
of
Arabia"
–
the
Virgin
Mary
seated
on
a
throne
with
a
crown
on
her
head,
holding
the
infant
Jesus
in
her
right
hand
and
the
rosary
in
her
left
hand.
The
"mystery
crown
artworks"
in
the
cathedral
are
the
masterpieces
of
Kiko
Argüello
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