Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Muscat (Agenzia Fides) – After completing his visit to the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Raphael Thattil, who took up his post at the beginning of this year, has arrived in Oman. In the capital, Muscat, he began his pastoral journey through the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Accompanied by Bishop Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap, he was welcomed in the parishes of Ruwi and Ghala, where he met the Syro-Malabar communities and presided over the Holy Qurbana, the solemn Eucharistic liturgy of the Syro-Malabar rite.
The two prelates then travelled to Abu Dhabi to meet the Syro-Malabar faithful living in the parishes of the United Arab Emirates. In the Arabian Peninsula, Catholic communities are mainly made up of migrant workers from various parts of the world, especially from India and the Philippines. These communities, although following different rites, are united under the same local Church.
An example of Catholicity that Pope Francis, during his visit to Abu Dhabi in 2019, described as a “joyful polyphony of faith”: “You who are here know the melody of the Gospel and follow its rhythm with enthusiasm. You are a choir made up of many nations, languages and rites; a diversity that the Holy Spirit loves and wants to harmonize more and more, to make a symphony. This joyful polyphony of faith is a witness that you give to everyone and that builds up the Church.”
The first resident Syro-Malabar priest arrived on the peninsula over thirty years ago. To date, there are about sixty priests in the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia alone, of whom thirteen belong to the Syro-Malabar rite. Five of them serve as parish priests in various parishes. The Syro-Malabar faithful represent about 5% of the Catholic population in this Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. (Agenzia Fides, 28/11/2024)
