Speech of Bishop Paul Hinder at the Inauguration of the Cathedral of Bahrain

Your Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,

I have the honour to welcome His Royal Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Personal Representative of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain and of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime-Minister; I welcome the other members of the Royal family here present; His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; H. E. Archbishop Eugene M. Nugent, Apostolic Nuncio; Honourable Ambassadors and many other representatives of church and government, the municipality, the architects, contractors and invited guests.



It is worthy to put today’s event in a larger context of the relationship between Islam and Christianity and to highlight the role Bahrain and its rulers played in this regard. Thankfully, in modern times, the relationship between Christian and Muslim leaders, and consequently, their followers, has been characterized by sentiments of growing mutual respect and esteem.

The inauguration of this church gives me the opportunity to draw your attention to the prominent and irreplaceable role that the State of Bahrain has played in the fostering of Christian-Muslim Relations in the Arabian Peninsula.

For the Catholic Church, the role of Bahrain came to prominence when in the first half of the last century a reorganization of the pastoral work in the region was required. While the former basis in Aden lost its importance, Bahrain became more and more prominent as the hub for the pastoral care of the Catholics residing on the shores of the Arabian Gulf. It was possible only because of the openness of the Ruler of Bahrain.

Msgr. Giovanni Battista Tirinnanzi from Florence, (my) predecessor, the Apostolic Vicar of Arabia at the time, arrived for the first time in the Arabian Gulf in 1938 when he visited in Bahrain the few hundred Catholics in the country. In a report from 1938 preserved in the archives, we find this note from Msgr. Tirinnanzi: “In an audience with the Ruler of Bahrain, H. H. Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, graciously offered me a plot of land for a Christian Church.” Thus, the first church in the Gulf could be built. Actually, the Sacred Heart Church in Manama was opened on 3 March 1940.

It was exactly 75 years later, on 11 February 2013, that another plot of land was given for the construction of a church; this time it was not an ordinary church, but as His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa explained to Pope Francis during his audience, “the largest church in the Arabian Peninsula”.

I wish to recall the words of late Bishop Camillo Ballin on receiving the plot of land, “This gesture of the King is a testament to the kingdom’s great religious and cultural openness and its example of religious tolerance should be upheld by the whole world.”

On behalf of the Catholics in Bahrain, and in the neighbouring countries of the Arabian Peninsula, I thank the King of Bahrain, His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown prince and Prime-Minister, and the Royal family for their efforts to support freedom of religion and expression in the Kingdom. Without the magnanimous gesture of His Majesty to grant around 9,000 square meters of land in Awali, to build a new Cathedral, we would not be here today.

We assure the Royal Family and the people of the Kingdom of Bahrain of our prayers. May God bless this beautiful country with peace, economic development and growth, and may the blessing of God be seen in the lavish abundance of life, of grace and generosity.

Bishop Paul Hinder
Apostolic Administrator of Northern Arabia (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia).