Francisco begins his first visit of a pope in the Arabian Peninsula this Sunday | World

Although the overwhelming majority of Catholics are expatriates, according to the apostolic missions of North and South, the Pope's journey to the region where Islam was born is an important step in his efforts to strengthen links with this religion.

Diplomatic relations with the Vatican

Kuwait was the first country in the region to formalize its relations with the Vatican in 1968. Yemen did the same in 1998, Bahrain in 2000, Qatar in 2002 and United Arab Emirates in 2007.

Saudi Arabia and Oman still have to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican.

Last year, Saudi Arabia, which houses the sacred sites of Mecca and Medina, received representatives of various Christian traditions in a gesture of Prince Salman Bin Mohamed to show signs opening up his ultra-conservative realm.

In April 2018, Saudi Arabia received French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who presided over the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue at the Vatican.

Died in July 2018, he was considered an important promoter of the dialogue between the Catholic Church and Islam. In November 2017, the head of the Lebanese Maronite church, Beshara Rai, paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia, where he met with King Salman and the Crown Prince.

Catholics in the Arabian Peninsula

There are more than 3.5 million Christians in the Gulf, about 75% of whom are Catholic, most of them are migrant workers from the Philippines and from the Philippines. l & # 39; India.

According to the Apostolic Vicariates, there would be more than one million Catholics in Saudi Arabia alone, about 350,000 in Kuwait, 80,000 in Bahrain and between 200,000 and 300,000 in Qatar, although it is the only one in the world. there are no official figures.

Nearly one million Catholics live in the United Arab Emirates, according to Paul Hinder, bishop of the apostolic vicariate of southern Arabia, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen.

There are 22 Catholic churches in the region: eight in the United Arab Emirates, four in Oman, Kuwait and Yemen, one in Bahrain and one in Qatar.

Mbad celebrated in churches on Fridays, which marks the first day of the weekend in the region, is generally the most populous.

In the United Arab Emirates, the Mbad is celebrated several days a week and in different languages ​​(English, Tagalog, Malayalam, Hindi …) to welcome all the faithful.

Saudi Arabia prohibits any house of prayer that is not Muslim.

According to the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, Catholics "enjoy freedom of worship in the parish".

However, he notes some difficulties due to "a limitation of the number of priests, the small number of churches and the limited space" of these temples, especially at Christmas and Easter, where he can be up to 25,000 participants.

"It is also forbidden (under penalty of punishment) to engage in any public activity or to demonstrate one's religion, including proselytizing," said the Vicariate.

Although most Christians in the region are migrant workers, there is a small percentage of local Christians in Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen. According to Father Benjamin Jacob Gharib, head of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, there are about 260 Kuwaiti Christians belonging to eight extended families. According to unofficial estimates, there are 1,000 Christians in Bahrain and thousands of Yemeni Christians.

Although most Christians in the region are migrant workers, there is a small percentage of local Christians in Kuwait, Bahrain and Yemen.

According to Father Benjamin Jacob Gharib, leader of the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait, there would be 260 Kuwaiti Christians from eight extended families.