eerste kerk in qatar

PICTURE: Jayan Orma

CHURCH CONSECRATED: Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples Cardinal Ivan Dias addressing the gathering during the consecration of the first church in Qatar yesterday. The ceremony at Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary at Mesaimeer was attended by thousands of people.

TEARS of joy rolled down the cheeks of many of the faithful yesterday at the consecration ceremony of Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.
“This is the moment I have been waiting for all these years,” an Asian expatriate woman said in between sobs, clutching a rosary close to her heart.
She was one of the thousands who had walked all the way through the nearly 2km offroad track leading to the church.
It was an emotional moment when the multi-national choir sang the first hymn ‘Veni, Sancte Spiritus (Come Holy Spirit), to the accompaniment of energetic drumming by the African musicians.
“I thought my heart would explode with joy,” recalled a young believer, one of the first to reach the church around 7am and stayed on till 3pm when the consecration rites concluded.
The church, designed to hold about 2,700 people, was packed with thousands more, forcing hundreds of faithful to listen to the ceremony from the courtyard.
“It is unbelievable,” was how a Western expatriate replied when asked how she felt about the church’s opening, adding the leaders of Qatar deserve praise for paving the way.
Words of gratitude to HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad were expressed by several speakers during the consecration.
Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples Cardinal Ivan Dias, the main celebrant, was the first to express thanks, followed by those including representatives from different language communities.
Vicar Apostolic of Arabia Bishop Paul Hinder said in his address that a personal letter of gratitude from Pope Benedict XVI would be shortly sent to Qatar’s royal family.
Several of the faithful who spoke to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the ceremony showered encomiums on HH the Emir and HH Sheikha Mozah for their visionary outlook.
Asked about the difficulties in reaching the church through the offroad stretch, almost everyone replied that they were thankful for the church becoming a reality and were confident that the authorities concerned would build a good road shortly.
“Making a proper road is nothing to the leadership of this country, who were truly magnanimous in giving permission for this church and the other churches that are coming up,” observed a long-time resident.
A number of dignitaries including FIFA’s former president Joao Havelange and Indian Parliamentarian Sebastian Paul were among those who attended the consecration ceremony.
Officials and personnel from the police and Internal Security Force were at hand to guide the faithful at every point and manage the crowd.
At one point when several parallel lines of vehicles almost clogged the mouth of the track, the security personnel were prompt to manage the situation and ensure smooth flow of traffic


GL:
aam de buitenkant vasn Doha bij Mesaimeer is een soort supermarkt voor kerken geopend. In het prachtige gebouw wat al gereed is werd gisteren de eerste dienst gehouden.
er moeten nog een anglicaanse, een grieks othordoxe, een koptische en nog wat andere kerken bijkomen op dit plein.


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