Rosary Church, Doha | |
Fullname: | Catholic Church of our Lady of the Rosary كنيسة سيدة المسبحة |
Location: | Abu Hamour,[1] Doha |
Country: | Qatar |
Denomination: | Catholic |
Website: | https://qatarcatholicchurch.org/home |
Consecrated Date: | 15 March 2008 |
Capacity: | 2 700 |
Division: | Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia |
Priestincharge: | Fr. Xavier Marian D'Souza OFM Cap. |
The Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (Arabic: كنيسة سيدة المسبحة) is a Catholic church in Doha, Qatar. It is located, along with churches of other Christian denominations, at the Religious Complex in Abu Hamour.[1] It is the first church built in the country since the Muslim conquests in the 7th century.[2] [3]
The church was constructed at a cost of around $20 million on land donated by the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.[4] Due to the laws in Islamic Qatar, the church displays no Christian symbols like crosses, bells, or a steeple on its exterior.[5]
The church was dedicated on 14 March 2008, by Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation,[6] in a ceremony attended by Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah; Archbishop Mounged Al Hachem, the ambassador of the Holy See to the Gulf; Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia; Archbishop Giuseppe Andrea, former nuncio of the Holy See to the region; and several Qatari officials.[7] [8]
The church is part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia and serves around 200,000 Catholics in Qatar,[1] most of them migrant workers from the Philippines, India, South America, Africa, Lebanon and Europe.[1] [9] [10]