Sharjah's Catholic community builds community of trust

Sharjah's Catholic community has established a strong support system based on love, mercy and kindness

The Yarmook suburb of Sharjah houses many churches of the Christian denomination in a cluster. In the midst of this stands the St. Michael's Catholic Church in Sharjah. The Catholic community in Sharjah initially started due to the determination of Fr. Barnabas Maddii OFM Cap, an Italian Capuchin in 1971. Its humble beginning was a little chapel close to the British Air Force base. In 1973, Fr. Barnabas' efforts shifted it into the then British officers' mess and the kitchen area was turned into the Parish house.

Father Attilio Franceschetti, the second parish priest of St. Michael's Church in Sharjah had a small growing population where he conducted services in private houses on the east coast of the UAE during the 1970s. He had to make arduous travels across the country when there were hardly any streetlights and animals regularly wandered across the road.

The present St. Michael's Church was consecrated on October 2, 1997, by Cardinal Arinze from the Vatican with Fr. Angelo as the First Parish Priest in Yarmook. It grew rapidly serving Catholics from different nations who came to live in Sharjah. The Sharjah parish is one of nine parishes in the UAE. The Roman Catholic church in the UAE is one of the largest communities in the world outside of a Catholic country.

There are currently about 40,000 parishioners of multi-lingual, ritual and nationalities in Sharjah parish with 35 different communities supporting them. At present, there are seven priests who look after the well-being of this very active parish. On holy days of observation such as Easter and Christmas, the church remains open 24 hours. When the papal visit was announced, it was a very joyous moment for the Sharjah community with 11,000 parishioners availing tickets for the papal mass.

In this thriving parish, a small international community called Couples for Christ are having 60 families attending the papal mass. Paul George with his four girls aged seven, five, two years old, and eight months are eagerly waiting to attend the mass.
"Since the announcement of the papal visit, the girls have been busy drawing and making welcome cards for the Pope. Though we did not get tickets within the stadium, we are grateful and happy to see him outdoors on the screen with our community."

Couples for Christ is a community that has the Vatican's affiliation and is classified as an International Catholic lay ecclesial movement. They are very rare within Catholic communities globally for looking at building the social and relationship aspects of Catholics of all sections of society. The community runs specialised programmes for all members of the Christian society from children, youth, singles, couples, divorced and widows. There is a clear focus on building 'excellent long-standing marriages and strong family life'.

The community also has an interest in supporting Christian married men and women who are away from families and living alone in the UAE. They connect them to strong networks of like-minded members of the same gender in a group setting in order to give them emotional support, so that they don't feel isolated in a country far away from home.

Couples for Christ is at par with the vision of Pope Francis where he has stated: "The Christian community is called to welcome, accompany and help couples, by offering them opportunities and tools, aside from just Sunday Mass by including programmes within the parish."

Paul George, who is one of the heads of the Indian wings in Sharjah's Couples for Christ, commented, "We run programmes called CLP in the church that help build family life and marriage. It is also centred on personal growth and individual change needed to help better contribute to a harmonious and joyful society."

"The community is very hospitable with multi-ethnic members from four different continents and different denominations," said Lavina Andrade, a Mangalorean CFC member.

Prima Johnny, a devoted mother of three, further states: "We believe our Holy Father's vision that family is the building block of society, and once you strengthen families, individuals and relationships, society is impacted in a big way."

Noel George, a Couples for Christ member from a Protestant denomination of the Church of South India says: "There is transparency, vulnerability and honesty, as we intentionally build relationships in a multilingual and multicultural context within the community. Thus, it helps create a civilisation of love, mercy and kindness that Pope Francis always encourages us Christians to do."

"Meals are often shared in homes, and the focus is on fostering strong bonds," said John Thomas, a married Keralite man who is residing away from family. "We begin to see each other as family, helping and being there for each other in good times and bad."

John praised the International community's gift to bond as the members meet together over picnics and cultural programmes to support and showcase local talent. There are many opportunities to build quality time in various ways such as to travel abroad on vacations in small groups of families, dinners and sports competitions.

Cicily Ponnor is a mother of four from Australia currently residing in Sharjah. She is passionate about supporting communities from all walks of life and has attended papal masses with Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict and now is very excited about attending Pope Francis' mass.