Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait
Holy Family Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City, dedicated in 1961.[1] The church contains a statue of Our Lady of Arabia, a smaller replica of the 1949 cedar statue enshrined at the Catholic church in Ahmadi, Kuwait.[2]
As of 2018 its Parish Priest and the Vicar General is Fr. Peter P. Mathew OFM Cap.[3]
Present day
Until recently, the Holy Family Cathedral was the seat of the bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia. However, with the construction of a Cathedral in Bahrain it has lost the title.[4] In order to satisfy the 140,000 Catholics residing in Kuwait mass is held at the Cathedral throughout the week in multiple languages, including, English, Arabic, Tagalog, Sinhala, Malayalam, Tamil, Kokani, Korean, Spanish, Italian and French. Sunday is a weekday in Kuwait as the Muslim prayer day, Friday, is a weekend. Therefore, Sunday masses of the following week are given in advance on the Friday or Saturday of the previous week.[5] Currently, there are eight priests at the Holy Family Cathedral and a Deacon[3] Catechism classes are also offered at the Cathedral, preparing children and teenagers for their Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation. Additionally, Marriage preparation courses are also offered at the Parish.[6] The church is situated in the east side of Kuwait City, in the Qibla area. The land was offered by the Kuwaiti government back in 1961.[3]
References
- The Arabian Mission's Story: In Search of Abraham's Other Son - Lewis R. Scudder - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- Mary In Our Life: Atlas of the Names and Titles of Mary, the Mother of Jesus ... - Nicholas J. Santoro - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-04-21.
- "The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia".
- "The Catholic Church in Kuwait".
- "Mass Timings Holy Family Cathedral Parish Kuwait".
- "Kuwait Cathecism".