Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia del Nord
Arabiae Septentrionalis
Apostolic vicariate · Latin Church · Arabia del Nord, Bahrain
Latin rite apostolic vicariate with jurisdiction over Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, created in 2011 and serving a largely migrant Catholic population. Its seat is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain, built on land donated by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. Bishop Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T. was ordained and installed there on 18 March 2023.
The see
- Rank
- Apostolic vicariate
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 31 May 2011
- Latin
- Arabiae Septentrionalis
- Patron
- Our Lady of Arabia
- Annuario code
- 001000381
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 2,722,000
- Population
- 43,463,583
- Catholic share
- 6.3%
- Priests
- 54
- Catholics per priest
- 50,407
- Extent
- 2,179,846 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 1.2
of the people living within its bounds
Figures as recorded in the register, from the Annuario Pontificio and the see's own published statements. Shares and ratios are computed from the two figures shown beside them.
The bishop
- Vicar Apostolic
- Aldo Berardi, O.SS.T.
A see whose chair stands empty is recorded as vacant rather than filled with a guess. On what a bishop is, see the bishop.
The cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Awali stands in Arabia del Nord, the church that holds the cathedra from which this see takes its name.
On what a cathedral is, see the cathedral; every see church on earth is gathered at the cathedrals.
History
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia together form the territory of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Septentrionalis; Arabic: النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية). First established in 1953 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kuwait, the vicariate took its current name in 2011. Bishop Aldo Berardi OSsT serves as its vicar apostolic.
What is kept by invitation
The record above is published because it is public: what this see is, when it was erected, who holds its chair, and where it stands among its neighbours.
The working record is not. The chancery's address, telephone and email, the clergy of the see, and the hours of Mass, confession and adoration in the parishes within it are kept for members, and a person reads every request.
Sources
The see's own website · Wikipedia
This record is compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. On the method, see the keeping of the record. Whoever finds an error is asked, in charity, to write: [email protected].