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.   PICTURE: Jayan Orma

Staff Reporter
Marking a major milestone in the growth of religious freedom in Qatar, the country’s first church, Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, was consecrated yesterday at Mesaimeer at an emotionally charged ceremony attended by thousands of faithful. Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples Cardinal Ivan Dias, who flew in from the Vatican for the event, led the rites of consecration that lasted nearly five hours.
He was accompanied by Vicar Apostolic of Arabia Bishop Paul Hinder, Vatican’s nuncio to Gulf states Archbishop Munged al-Hachem, former nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Andrea, and more than 30 others including bishops and senior priests.
The consecration Mass began around 10am with an entrance procession, of the main celebrant and concelebrants, from the parish hall to the entrance of the church, followed by the hymn ‘Come Holy Spirit.’
Next was the handing over of the church that saw Cardinal Dias presenting the key to the vicar apostolic and releasing a souvenir published to commemorate the occasion.
Cardinal Dias subsequently invited the faithful to enter the church, saying ‘Go within his gates giving thanks; enter his courts with songs of praise.’
The hymn, beginning with ‘Sing out, The Lord is near,’ rang out next to the accompaniment of joyous dancing and clapping.
The parade of nations, featuring national flags of 66 countries, was next. Representatives of the nations concerned entered the church, holding aloft their national flags.
Cardinal Dias then carried out the blessing of water, before proceeding to rites such as depositing of the relics, prayer of dedication, and consecration of the altar and building.
The liturgical dance was followed by lighting of the candles at which juncture the Cardinal said ‘Light of Christ shine forth in the Church and bring all nations to the fullness of truth.’
The hymn ‘Christ be our light,’ was followed by the candle dance, the offertory procession, African dance, and hymn ‘I offer my life,’ leading to the liturgy of the Eucharist.
In between, the prayer of the faithful was recited by the different language communities who come under the parish.
Addressing a group of dignitaries at a special gathering on Thursday at the church, Bishop Hinder had lauded the contributions of the Qatar government in facilitating permanent places of worship for Christian communities in the country.
He observed that with the opening of the church a new chapter has begun for an estimated 100,000 plus Catholic congregation of different nationalities living in Qatar.
The church and its other facilities, spread out in an area of over 5,000 sq m, could accommodate about 2,700 people at a time

Staff Reporter
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.