St. Michael's Church in

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

situated in Halwan Suburb of Al Yarmook area of

, founded in 1971. the church is headed by Fr. Savarimuthu Antony Samy from

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

History

The first St. Michael's Church was founded by an Italian Capuchin, Fr. Barnabas Maddii, in 1971 and was originally just a small chapel close to the British Airforce base. In 1973 Fr. Barnabas shifted it into the British officers' mess. The kitchen of the church was converted into the Parish House. Father Barnabas was succeeded by Fathers Attilio, Edmund, Antonino, Felicio, Godwin and Angelo. The congregation increased along with the space to accommodate all of the parishioners. The new Church was built by Fr. Angelo Fiumicelli and his team, under the supervision of Bishop Bernard Gremoli. It was consecrated on 2 October 1997 by Cardinal Artinze from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, with Fr. Angelo as the first parish priest. When Fr. Angelo returned to Italy after 18 years in St. Michael's Church and 54 years in the Vicariate of Arabia, Bishop

Paul Hinder Paul Hinder, OFMCap (born 22 April 1942) is a Swiss Catholic bishop. He is the Vicar Apostolic Emeritus of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Bishop Hinder was previously appointed as an Auxiliary Bishop in the former Apostolic Vic ...

appointed Fr. Ani Xavier as parish priest on 6 July 2007, with co-pastors Fr. Rodson, Fr. Antonio, Fr. Biju and Fr. Felicio. 35 prayer groups gather weekly, and Masses are conducted in 8 languages.

References

External links

St. Michael's, Sharjah website
Buildings and structures in Sharjah (city) Roman Catholic churches in the United Arab Emirates Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia 20th-century religious buildings and structures in the United Arab Emirates {{UnitedArabEmirates-church-stub