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September 23, 2024Extraordinary Jubilee Year of St Arethas and companions martyrs
in the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia
09/11/2023-22/09/2024At the beginning of the Holy Year, Bp Paolo addressed the faithful of the vicariate with these words: “We cannot remember these holy martyrs without asking ourselves what their testimony means for us today. This Jubilee Year, in fact, is an opportunity to delve deeper into the meaning of the Christian testimony that we are called to bear every day with our lives.”And it did, indeed, as per the testimonies given by the faithful across the vicariate.“It is a moment of great Joy for me and my family to know that we are living in a region where Christianity was already lived heroically. Receiving the Relic at our Parish and venerating the great martyrs helped us to revitalize our own faith”, shared a parishioner from Muscat, Oman.In fact, the Jubilee year started with great solemnity at St Joseph's Cathedral, Abu Dhabi, where the Holy Door was opened and St Arethas' relics enshrined, symbolizing the beginning of a period of special grace and spiritual renewal, connecting our community, our Church in the Gulf, with its ancient roots, with their martyrdom. “Individuals, families, groups, young people, associations and movements, children, and the elderly: everyone came to celebrate the victory of these holy martyrs of Arabia through their pilgrimage to the Holy Door” to the amazement and joy of the bishop as he shares in his Pastoral Letter “Joy and Jubilee” released on the occasion of the conclusion of this Holy Year.If many faithful came from all over the vicariate to pass through the Holy Door as a pilgrimage, it has been a grace to have another relic journeying throughout our parishes, for all those who couldn’t travel to Abu Dhabi but also as an act of devotion for the whole parish community, leaving this unique opportunity all together in communion.“It is not only the faithful who came to visit Saint Arethas and his companions in the Cathedral, but Saint Arethas also visited all our parishes in the Vicariate through the relics that you welcomed and venerated with love in your own parishes”, said Bp Paolo in his homily during the concluding mass.Every parish within the UAE and the sultanate of Oman had the opportunity to host the relics, allowing the faithful in even the most remote areas to participate in this special year of grace.Many admitted that they did not know these saints before the jubilee and how inspiring it has been to get to know they history and “receive” them in their own parish through the relic: “[Receiving] the relic at our Parish was one of the most memorable and prayerful events I have experienced. Each day the priest shared the agonies endured by St. Arethas and his companions, how they transformed their suffering into a beautiful crown for our Lord Jesus Christ. This deeply touched me, as I realized how easily we become worried and lost over small things. Praying in front of the Relic was truly a profound experience and we could feel the presence of the saints. Each day the priest offered our petitions to God through the intercession of St. Arethas and his companions. We are certain that they intercede for us making this land and ourselves holy”, a parishioner shared.The relic was kept 10 days in each parish, the time for a novena with special celebrations, all day veneration, prayers, and learning about the life of the martyrs.
Many shared how it has been a grace individually and for the whole parish community, like these two parishioners from Ruwi-Muscat : “Listening to the life story of the Martyrs of Najran was like watching the martyrdom live. It brought tears in my eyes while listening to the story how they laid down their life for their faith. It was a moment to rethink about the depth of my own faith”. “It has really helped in nourishing our spiritual life and rejuvenating our Parish.”, another one added.A parishioner from Salalah “felt a bittersweet mixture of gratitude for having been part of such a sacred experience, and a quiet longing for the continued blessings it brought to our community, as the relic was moved to another church”.This pilgrimage of the relics helped strengthen our faith, providing a connection to our common spiritual heritage, and fostered a sense of unity among the different communities spread across the Vicariate, as all lived the same experience one after the other as a sign of unity in this common spiritual journey with St Arethas.The conclusion of the Hoy Year was anticipated as Bp Paolo will be out of the vicariate next month, participating in the second part of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, as he represents the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab region.As the Jubilee year drew to a close, the faithful once again gathered for the last pilgrimage to the Holy Door on Saturday 21st of September, in an unexpected number, almost 1000 ! The day after, Sunday, around 3000 gathered at St Joseph's Cathedral parish for the closing of the Holy Door, preceded by the celebration of Holy Mass, presided over by Bp Paolo in presence of Arch. Christophe El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio to UAE and Yemen, and Bp Emeritus Paul Hinder. This ceremony was not merely an end but a celebration of the spiritual journey undertaken by the entire Vicariate. It has not only deepened the faith of each one of us but has also strengthened the bonds between parishes and communities across the Vicariate.
This sign of unity is one of the reasons why these saints are so important to us as the bishop stressed during the homily: “we come from many different countries, have different liturgical rites and spiritual traditions. Each of us has devotions to saints from our own culture and we may wish to celebrate them here as well. But Saint Arethas and his companions are saints of this land of Arabia in which we now live. Therefore, they are our saints, whom we all can celebrate in common” as “one Church, the Church of Arabia.” In fact, “coming to this country in the Gulf as migrants we become an indivisible part of the history of this Church of Arabia, rooted in the Apostolic testimony and watered by the blood of the martyrs.”
May we continue to get inspired by the legacy of St Arethas who stood firm in his faith and carry forward the spirit of renewal and community for ourselves, our parishes, our Church of Arabia.More about the concluding ceremony :
