Catholics in the town of Mussafah near Abu Dhabi have begun construction on a new church dedicated to St. Paul.
Bishop Paul Hinder, O.F.M., the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, blessed the church’s foundation stone on June 29 in the presence of the local Catholic community, including priests and religious missionaries .
There are about 3,500 Catholic families and about 15,000 Catholic laborers around Abu Dhabi.
Many are guest workers from Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, but some are Arabs, George Puthussery, press officer for the Abu Dhabi-based Vicariate of Southern Arabia, told the Catholic News Agency.
In 2011, the local government of Abu Dhabi granted a land area of 1.1 acres for the construction of the parish church.
Mussafah is an industrial town southwest of the capital city Abu Dhabi.
St. Paul’s Church would be the second parish of the Abu Dhabi area.
For almost 50 years, St. Joseph’s Cathedral has been the only church for Catholics near Abu Dhabi.