The Catholic Church in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

History

200px, Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (Doha). There are 200,000 Catholics in Qatar, most of whom are expatriate workers from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Lebanon, India,

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. Qatar forms part of the

Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia The Apostolic Vicariate (or Vicariate Apostolic) of Northern Arabia ( la, Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Septentrionalis Arabic: النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية) is a Catholic apostolic vicariate (exempt pre-dioces ...

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...

, the first Catholic church in Qatar, and also the first in an Arab Muslim emirate, was dedicated in the capital,

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, on March 14, 2008. The church cost $15 million to build and received contributions from Catholics throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Previously, Catholics and other Christians were limited to informal group meetings in homes. There are two Eastern Catholic Churches, St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church and St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church.

References

{{Asia topic, Christianity in

Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia

History

See also

References