Marian Advocations of Saudi Arabia
Catholic faith in the land of Islam
Saudi Arabia is the country of Islam par excellence, where there are Mecca and Medina, the two most sacred places in the Muslim world. There are no official Catholic churches or public Christian veneration. However, it is estimated that some two million foreign Catholics - Filipino, Indian, Lebanese and other national workers - live in the country and practice their faith in the privacy of the home and in discreet meetings. The Catholic Church has no diocese; the country belongs to the Apostolic Vicariate of South Arabia (based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates). Since 2016, Saudi Arabia has allowed private masses, always without bells or visible crosses from the outside. The Virgin Mary (Maryam) is deeply respected in Islam as the virginal mother of Jesus, mentioned in the Quran with a sura bearing his name.
Main data
Marian devotions
In a country where Christian practice is not public, Marian advocacy takes on a special meaning: it is the maternal face of God to which the faithful cling in the underground. Each advocation represents a community, a origin, a history of faith that crosses borders.
Our Lady of Arabia - devotion of the workers
Our Lady of Arabia is the advocation that brings together expatriate Catholics throughout the Arabian peninsula. It has no unique image or sanctuary, but it lives in the heart of the Filipino, Indian, Pakistani and Lebanese workers who meet every Sunday in private houses or camps to pray the rosary.
The most widespread image shows the Virgin in a celestial blue mantle and a white robe, with her hands open in a welcome gesture, surrounded by palm trees and dunes of the desert. The faithful place this picture in their lockers, bags and rooms, often hidden in the clothes to avoid suspicion.
Virgin of the Desert - unofficial advocation
La Virgin of the Desert (also called Our Lady of the Sands) is an unofficial popular invocation born spontaneously among Catholic workers. It is not recognized by the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but it is deeply loved by those who live in the Saudi desert camps.
It tells the oral tradition that a group of Filipino workers in Yanbu, an industrial city of the Red Sea, created a small portable altar with an image of the Virgin printed on a fabric. They'd hide it in a closet and take it out just to pray the night rosary. When they changed camp, they rolled it up and carried it with them as a treasure. They called her affectionately. Virgin of the Sands Because the dunes in the desert were their only landscape.
In the moments of solitude, fatigue or despair, the workers entrust themselves to this Virgin of the Desert, who understands the dust, heat and nostalgia of the distant land.
Immaculate Conception of the Filipinos
La Immaculate Conception she is the patron of the Philippines, and the Filipinos in Saudi Arabia carry her deep in her heart. Every 8 December, even if it is a working day, Filipino Catholics seek a moment to meet and sing the Magnificat before a small image of the Immaculate Virgin who traveled with them from their land.
The Philippine community in Riyadh has been celebrating the Simbang Gabi - the ninth of masses before Christmas - in secret, meeting in private houses rotating host every night to not raise suspicion. The image of the Immaculate Conception presides over these celebrations. The risk of deportation is real, but faith is stronger. During Simbang Gabithe Filipinos sing the Filipino anthem to the Virgin (Immaculate Mother) in tagalo, and offer typical delights such as the duck y el fucking bumbong they prepare in improvised electric grills.
Our Lady of the Rosary - Filipino workers
El Holy Rosary is the most widespread Marian devotion among Catholics in Saudi Arabia, and especially among Filipinos. For them, the rosary is not just a prayer: it is the umbilical cord that binds them to their family, their parish of origin and the faith of their grandparents.
Prayer groups are organized by WhatsApp. Every night, at 8: 00, the participants connect in a group call and pray the rosary aloud, turning to direct the mysteries. When someone is too tired or sad, others offer the rosary for that purpose. The image of the Virgin of the Rosary - often a small picture stuck on the wall of the shared room - is the icon that unifies this domestic Church scattered throughout the Saudi kingdom.
On October 7, the feast of the Holy Rosary, the groups try to coordinate to pray the five tens together at the same time, even if they are separated by hundreds of miles of desert.
Stories of faith
Masses in the camps: Millions of Filipino and Indian workers live in labour camps. The Catholics meet in secret for the Mass, with priests who travel unknowns with a tourist visa. The Virgin of the Rosary is her main devotion. These clandestine Eucharistic celebrations are the greatest act of faith in a country that does not recognize Christianity.
The Virgin of the Sands: In the Saudi desert, Catholic workers have created small portable altars with images of the Virgin. They keep them inside cupboards and call them "Virgin of the Sands" or "Our Lady of the Desert." When a partner is deported, the image passes to the next, perpetuating a chain of faith that crosses generations.
Maryam en el Corán: Saudi Arabia is the cradle of the strictest Islam, but Mary (Maryam) is venerated in the Quran with a complete sura bearing its name (Sura 19). Many Saudis know the history of Maryam and respect those who venerate it. In Mecca there is a door called Chapter of Mary (Gate of Mary) in the Great Mosque, a gesture of recognition to the mother of Jesus, mentioned more times in the Quran than in the New Testament.
El Size Night fili fine en Riad: The Philippine community in the capital has been celebrating the Simbang Gabi - the ninth of pre-Christmas masses - in secret since 1990. The image of the Immaculate Conception chairs these meetings that rotate from house to house. Participants risk deportation, but keep alive a tradition their grandparents started in the Philippines.
The Vatican and Saudi Arabia: There are no full diplomatic relations, but in 2022 there was a historic milestone: the first public Catholic mass was allowed in the country, held within a diplomatic compound. The Virgin of Fatima was especially invoked in that celebration. This gesture opens a door of hope for the Catholic community living in the kingdom.
A flower for the Virgin
It offers a simple prayer for the Catholics of Saudi Arabia, who keep their faith alive in the underground. Pray a Hail Mary for them and for the peace of the world.
Pray Hail MaryRecommended links
- Our Lady of Arabia - detailed page of the main title
- - All claims by country
- - Apostolic Vicariate of South Arabia
- Marian calendar
- How to pray the Holy Rosary
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