<http://www.facebook.com/n/?groups/187625044690518/permalink/348543121932042/&mid=7b2978aG259414d5G132ddeeaG96&bcode=1.1363712604.AbkqX_X2Ox7rEBj7&n_m=rodgerscheryl%40yahoo.com> <http://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=748838575&mid=7b2978aG259414d5G132ddeeaG96&bcode=1.1363712604.AbkqX_X2Ox7rEBj7&n_m=rodgerscheryl%40yahoo.com> *Chester Williams*<http://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=748838575&mid=7b2978aG259414d5G132ddeeaG96&bcode=1.1363712604.AbkqX_X2Ox7rEBj7&n_m=rodgerscheryl%40yahoo.com> 1:03pm Mar 19 Q: What is the world's largest Parish? A: St. Mary's Catholic Church in Dubai, United Arab Emirates likely has the largest Catholic parish in the world, with over 300,000 parishioners. Equally noteworthy is the large degree of lay involvement among corporate professionals in the Dubai church, considering it exists in a non-democratic and Islamic society, according to Brandon Vaidyanathan of Notre Dame University.St. Mary's Catholic Church, Dubai is a church founded by the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the U.A.E. In 1966 he donated land to build the church. Rev. Fr. Eusebius Daveri and his team pioneered this project. The late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum inaugurated St. Mary’s Catholic Church on 7 April 1967. Currently in this place there is a new church that has been designed to accommodate more than 1700 worshipers at each service, under the guidance of Rev. Bishop Paul Hinder, Rev. Fr. Daniel Cerofolini OFM. Cap, Fr. Michael Cardoz and their team, who pioneered this project. The current Parish priest is Rev. Fr. Tomasito B. Veneracion.Catholics in Dubai operate under restrictions as found in most other Islamic countries. The church was allowed space to build one parish and a school in 1965 for its foreign national population. Since then the population of Dubai grew sharply, going from 0.28 million in 1971 to two million in 2011. The Catholic population of the city rose to 300,000-largely due to the influx of Filipino and Indian ex patriots (Arab states generally do not allow “foreign workers”-some whose families have been in these countries for three generations-to become citizens). Yet Vaidyanathan notes that the structural restrictions of allowing only one parish for 300,000 members may be a big factor in the Dubai's church significant degree of lay involvement.Thank God for the gift of faith!
<http://www.facebook.com/n/?photo.php&fbid=10151392784718576&set=o.187625044690518&type=1&relevant_count=1&mid=7&n_m=rodgerscheryl%40yahoo.com> **** **** -- DEV BOREM KORUM Gabe Menezes.
