Finally the first Catholic church has already been erected in Baku, Azerbaijan and another first Catholic church will be erected at an Arab emirate in Doha, Qatar.
The first Catholic church in Baku, Azerbaijan is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and has been established in the presence of the Pope’s Secretary of State, Tarciso Cardinal Bertone. The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Azerbaijan was built on the land donated to Pope John Paul II by President Heydar Aliyev, father of the nation's current head of state, on the eve of the Pontiff's visit to the country in 2002.
While in Qatar, the first Catholic church will be built on the land donated by Emir Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, ruler of Qatar, who is supporting inter-religious dialogues while maintaining Islamic law.
The church in Doha, Qatar will be dedicated to the Blessed Mother Mary and according to sources will be headed by a Filipino priest, Fr. Tomasito Veneracion. Qatar has over 45,000 Filipino Oversees Workers which will be served by the new church along with other foreign workers in the country.
This place of worship will be formally inaugurated by Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, on March 14. Joining him is Archbishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar to Arabia.
The Qatar government formally opened its diplomatic relationships with the Holy See in 2003.
(Rodney P Vertido)
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