Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia del Sud
Arabiae Meridionalis
Apostolic vicariate · Latin Church · Arabia del Sud, United Arab Emirates
Latin-rite apostolic vicariate covering the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, immediately subject to the Holy See. First erected in 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden, it took the name Southern Arabia in 2011. Its seat is St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi.
The see
- Rank
- Apostolic vicariate
- Tradition
- Latin Church
- Erected
- 31 May 2011
- Latin
- Arabiae Meridionalis
- Patron
- Nuestra Señora de Arabia
- Annuario code
- 001000383
The see in figures
- Catholics
- 1,005,600
- Population
- 45,232,171
- Catholic shareof the people living within its bounds
- 2.2%
- Priests
- 69
- Catholics per priest
- 14,574
- Extent
- 929,969 km²
- Catholics per km²
- 1.1
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
- Paolo Martinelli, O.F.M. Cap.
- Born
- 22 April 1942
- Birthplace
- Lanterswill-Steherenberg
- Institute
- ORDINE FRANCESCANO FRATI MINORI CAPPUCCINI (O.F.M. Cap.)
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
St. Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi stands in Arabia del Sud, 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
Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen all fall under the territorial jurisdiction of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Meridionalis; Arabic: النيابة الرسولية لجنوب شبه الجزيرة العربية). First established in 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden, it took its current name in 2011. The vicar apostolic, presently Paolo Martinelli, has his see at Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, a cathedral in the care of the Capuchins of Florence since 1916.
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The see's own website · Wikipedia
Compiled from the published statements of the see and the references of the Holy See, among them the Annuario Pontificio. Corrections: hello@catholicintelligence.com.