News - June 2024 RSS Feed

We joyfully celebrate the solemnity of the patron saints of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, of which we also remember the anniversary of the foundation that took place 135 years ago. We are all Catholics, with the same baptism and the same faith, but like Peter and Paul we are also different in culture, education and language. Yet we were brought together to form one Church and to bear witness to the Gospel through our unity and love for one another.

At the end of the Mass celebrated on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his episcopal ordination, Bp Paolo delivered a thanksgiving message.

On 23rd June 2024, the Comitium of Southern Arabia was raised as the Regia of the Arabian Gulf to govern the wider Legion of Mary. A thanksgiving mass was celebrated in St Joseph’s Cathedral, Abu Dhabi, presided over by H.E. Bp Paolo Martinelli OFM Cap., Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, in the presence of H.E. Bp Aldo Berardi O.SS.T., Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia, and many priests, spiritual directors of the different curias and legionaries coming from the Gulf.

Father Stefano Luca OFM Cap., speaks of the significance of the first pastoral visit of the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia to St. Francis Church at the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, and his personal experience.

Bp Paolo Martinelli was invited to speak at the 1st AVOSA Catholic Men's Leadership Conference on Saturday, 22 June 2024, in St Francis of Assisi parish, Jebel Ali, about fatherhood today and reciprocity between men and women.

During Jesus Youth National Assembly, Bp Paolo spoke about the meaning of the Year of Prayer desired by Pope Francis in preparation for the Church Jubilee 2025. He reminded that this year in our vicariate, we are invited to pray especially to St Arethas and his companions martyrs who, before us, inhabited and gave their testimony of faith in this land.

Bp Paolo stresses the need of dialogue with people of different faiths, not only for intellectuals, but for all the faithful. He also outlines the pillars supporting the Christian community, looking at the first one described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Bp Paolo did his first pastoral visit to the Church of St. Francis in the Abrahamic Family House. Jesus speaks to us about the kingdom of God, offering images to describe what it is and how it grows in us and in the world, as a seed planted in the ground. The Abrahamic Family House is still a small reality like a seed which however has great potential for peace and good of all humanity.

On 14th June, St Anthony parish, Sohar, Oman, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a mass presided over by Bp Paolo Martinelli, in presence of Bp Emeritus Paul Hinder, Fr. Peter PM, vicar delegate, the parish priest Fr. Babychen, and other priests serving in Oman.

We all need to feel the Church as a mother who never abandons us. Share your spiritual richness with others. Help each other to feel part of the parish and of the entire Church. And reach out to those who are far from the Church, are no more coming to the Church and distanced themselves from the Church. Offer them the friendship of Christ and invite them to join again the life of the Church. And communicate to our young people the reasons for a lived faith.

During his pastoral visit to Ras Al Khaimah parish, Bp Paolo visited the faithful in Umm Al Quwain on the 9th June.

The feast of the Patron Saint of the parish, Saint Anthony, was celebrated on Sunday 9 June during the pastoral visit of the bishop. St Anthony was an ambassador of Christ towards sinners. He was a minister of reconciliation and peace. He helps us nurture a great desire to follow Jesus and grow in holiness. In fact, with your baptism, you received the vocation to holiness.

The Holy Spirit is very creative, He distributes spiritual gifts, charisms, and talents to all the faithful so that each of you can carry out his mission. Each of you is unique and unrepeatable. The gifts are given that each of you can give the Church and the world a unique contribution for the good of all. With the help of the Holy Spirit, you will have to concretely discover your vocation and your mission.

The solemnity of the sacred heart of Jesus reminds us that Christianity is a story of love. It is about God's love for his people and for all humanity. God is faithful to his love, even when we make mistakes and fall into sin. This is God's mercy: he always let us start again and even from evil he can give birth to new paths of good.

Since the purpose of the pastoral visit is to confirm us in the true faith and the unity among all the faithful, we find all this precisely in the body and blood of Christ. Our faith is always a faith rooted in the Eucharist.

We celebrate the solemnity of the body and blood of the Lord which reminds us of the profound meaning of the Eucharist. The blood of Christ purifies us from all our sins and introduces us to communion with God and each other. Jesus invites us to eat his body to become his body, to be a sign of his presence in the world.

The Holy Spirit is given to you to live the joy of being children of God, being friends of Jesus and collaborating with him to build the kingdom of God. You can't live only to make a lot of money, or to have the best career and have strong power over others. We are called to no longer be slaves to idols but children of God, free to love and be loved.