October
9, 2014 (Abu Dhabi): The newly constructed St. Joseph’s Parish Centre
was inaugurated by H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of
Culture, Youth & Community Development at a ceremony held on
October 9th at 7.30 p.m. The event was also attended by H.E. Ali Al
Hashimi, Religious Consellor at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and
a few other government officials of Abu Dhabi.
At
the invitation of H.E. Bishop Paul Hinder (OFM Cap), Apostolic Vicar of
Southern Arabia, present on the occasion were H.E. Archbishop Petar
Rajic, Apostolic Nuncio to the Arabian Peninsula and H.E. Bishop Camillo
Ballin, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia. Also present were Fr.
Savarimuthu, Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Abu Dhabi, all the
Assitant priests and a host of priests from various parishes of the
United Arab Emirates.
Dignitaries
arrived at the venue at 7.30pm. The compere, Roydon D'mello welcomed
the congregation present and invited the Chief Guest, H.E. Sheikh Nahyan
Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan to open the centre by cutting the red ribbon on
the main door. Upon declaring open the new structure, the guests walked
into the Parish Hall along with the representatives of the Consultant
and Contracting firms who were instrumental in erecting the remarkable
new building as the Choir sang ‘This is the day that the Lord has made’.
John
Conrad, the Vice President of the Parish Council invited the guests and
the congregation saying this is a ‘Dream come true’ venture of many
parishioners. He also attributed the success of the event amid laud
applauds from the congregation to the Late President H.H. Sheikh Zayed
Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who was the founder of this dream of the Catholic
faithful and current President H.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
who supported the venture.
Mementos
were then given to H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and H.E.
Ali Al Hashimi by Bishop Paul Hinder. Flower bouquets were also
presented to all the dignitaries. Addressing the guests, Bishop Paul
Hinder expressed his gratitude to the President of UAE, all the
Government officials, the Municipal authorities for granting necessary
permission and ensuring that the venture reached its completion without
any hindrance.
Speaking
on the occasion, H.E. Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said that he
is glad to have the Cathedral of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern
Arabia at Abu Dhabi. He also elaborated the policy of the UAE to
respect the expatriate communities of different faiths. He encouraged
the Catholic Community to continue to support the UAE in its effort to
build a Global nation living in harmony while achieving economic
growth.
Archbishop
Petar Rajic presented Mementos to the representatives of the
Consultant, Mr. Suhail and the Contractor, Mr. Hakim Saadi.
Speaking
on the occasion, Fr. Savarimuthu expressed his special thanks to the
bishop, Paul Hinder for all the support extended to this project. He
also thanked the members of the Construction Committee for their
commitment and whole hearted support. He made a special mention of the
enormous contribution of Fr. Eugene Mattioli, who served the Abu Dhabi
parish for seventeen and a half year to build up a strong Catholic
Community.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the following link to view the Photo Album:
No comments:
Post a Comment