(ZENIT News / Dubai, 09.10.2025) – In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 80,000 people attend Mass every week, and on special occasions, 200,000. An average of 10,000 children attend catechism classes each week.
This is the parish of St. Mary in Dubai, located in Oud Metha, a town of 15,600 inhabitants in Sector 3 of the capital. It was founded by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, in 1966, who donated the land to build the church. Designed for 1,700 parishioners at each service, it offers 200,000 communions each weekend and inaugurated a second church in 2001.
The community of St. Mary welcomes immigrants primarily from India and the Philippines. The community is a symbol of faith lived with fervor and discretion in a Muslim-majority country.
Thirty Masses are celebrated on weekends in English, Arabic, French, Urdu, and Filipino. The parish priest, Father Lennie J. A. Connolly, OFM Cap., stated on the parish Website that the faithful were served by a priest from Bahrain who celebrated Mass once a week in Embassies or in group homes of 10 to 15 people until the parish’s founding.
Fifteen permanent priests work in the parish, along with some temporary celebrants. The Pillar reported that of the 10,000 children enrolled in the parish catechism, about 7,000 receive instruction in English and 3,000 in other languages. Hundreds of Baptisms occur, and two community weddings are celebrated every 30 days.
The parish’s Website invites people to contact them and offers answers to any questions. Pastoral work is carried out within the legal framework of the United Arab Emirates, which allows non-Muslim religious practice in designated areas. However, there is strict control over Church activity, prohibiting public evangelization and excessive visibility, such as the use of bells or crosses outside the building.
The presence of Catholics has increased due to the immigration of workers and families from Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2020, the presence of 850,000 Christians in the country was estimated, the majority of whom were Catholics, a high percentage in a Muslim country. The experience of universal Catholicism brings together people of different cultures and languages around the same altar.
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