Our Lady of Arabia

Marian Advocation of Abu Dabi (National)
Recognized by the Church

Our Lady of Arabia is the official Marian advocation linked to the vicariates of the Arabian peninsula; she was born pastoral in Kuwait in the mid-20th century and was consolidated as regional patronage of the Gulf Catholics. In the Emirates its root is not in a temple of its own: the current devotional centre is associated with Kuwait and Bahrain, where the sanctuary is located. For your full history, see Our Lady of Arabia's tab in Kuwait.

Main data

Origin and history

Our Lady of Arabia is the official Marian advocation linked to the vicariates of the Arabian peninsula; she was born pastoral in Kuwait in the mid-20th century and was consolidated as regional patronage of the Gulf Catholics. In the Emirates its root is not in a temple of its own: the current devotional centre is associated with Kuwait and Bahrain, where the sanctuary is located. For your full history, see Our Lady of Arabia's tab in Kuwait.

The image and the sanctuary

There is no proper sanctuary in the Emirates of this advocation; its iconography is inspired by the Virgin of Carmen and its original sanctuary is in Kuwait, with the great cathedral of the Vicariate of North Arabia in Awali (Bahrain). In the Emirates, devotion is mainly lived as an emblem of regional Catholic identity.

Sponsorship and coronation

It is the official and patronage of the Arabian peninsula, proclaimed patron of the Apostolic Vicariate of North Arabia in 2011; the canonical coronation of its image took place in Kuwait in 1960. The Emirates belong to the Apostolic Vicariate of South Arabia, but devotion to this regional patron remains alive among its faithful.

Party and devotion

His party is held in mid-January, the Saturday before the second Sunday of Ordinary Time. In the Emirates it functions as a sign of unity of Catholics of multiple languages and rites; the verifiable is their use as an emblem of regional Catholic identity, rather than a specific miracle documented in the country.

Link to the Rosary

The Rosary is the main devotional channel of the Gulf faithful, also in the Emirates, where it supports the faith of the migrant communities. Invocation is associated with daily and community Marian prayer. There are no specific practices of the Rosary of an Emirati sanctuary dedicated to this title.