St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi

St. Joseph's Cathedral
St. Joseph's Parish Church
24°26′57″N 54°23′07″E / 24.449125831605784°N 54.38534929744973°E / 24.449125831605784; 54.38534929744973
LocationAl Mushrif, Abu Dhabi
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
DenominationRoman Catholic Church
Religious instituteOrder of Friars Minor Capuchin
Weekly attendance100,000+
Websitewww.stjosephsabudhabi.org
History
StatusCathedral and Parish Church
Founded
  • 22 June 1963 (1963-06-22) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 16 August 1977 (1977-08-16) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Founder(s)Fr. Barnabas Madii
Dedication
  • 1965 (1965) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 25 February 1983 (1983-02-25) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Events14 October 2014 (2014-10-14) (Inauguration of St. Therese Church)
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Groundbreaking
  • 10 February 1964 (1964-02-10) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 19 March 1981 (1981-03-19) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Completed
  • 24 December 1964 (1964-12-24) (in present-day Corniche)
  • 24 December 1982 (1982-12-24) (in present-day Al Mushrif)
Administration
DioceseApostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
DeaneryUnited Arab Emirates
Clergy
Bishop(s)Most Rev. Paolo Martinelli, OFM Cap.
RectorRev. Fr. Chito Bunda Bartolo, OFM Cap.

Saint Joseph’s Cathedral is the seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia and is one of five Catholic churches in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi alongside Saint Paul’s in Musaffah, Saint Mary‘s in Al Ain, Saint Francis’ in the Abrahamic Family House complex on Saadiyat Island, and Saint John the Baptist in Ruwais. The first church was built in 1962 in the present Corniche,on a plot of land donated by Sheikh Shakhbut, then-ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Masses are said in Arabic and the languages of various expatriate populations in the country, primarily English, French, German, Italian, Konkani, Malayalam, Sinhalese, Spanish, Tagalog, Tamil, and Urdu.