The Vicariate Apostolic of Southern Arabia (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiae) is a Roman Catholic apostolic vicariate located in the United Arab Emirates. It is a territorial jurisdiction of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church covering the following countries of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding region: Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The superior of the vicariate is the Swiss born Bishop Paul Hinder OFM Cap. It was established in 1888 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden and changed to its current name in 2011. The See of the jurisdiction was in Aden until 1973, when it was transferred to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. [1] Since 1916 it has been in the care of the Capuchins of Florence.
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Formerly part of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gallas, the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia was formed as a prefecture by Pope Pius IX on 21 January, 1875. It was made into a vicariate Apostolic on 25 April, 1888, by Pope Leo XIII as the Vicariate Apostolic of Aden, located in Yemen. On the 28 June, 1889 the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia. On 29 June, 1953, the Prefecture Apostolic of Kuwait was separated from the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia.
The vicariate was governed by the Capuchin friars, though Franciscan sisters have also been involved, especially in the beginning. [2]
From 1889 until 31 May 2011, it covered the following countries of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding region: Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Somaliland and Yemen, an area of over 1,200,000 square miles (3,100,000 km2) under the name Roman Catholic Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia. There were Catholic parishes in all these countries with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Somaliland, where the public practice of non-Islamic religions is forbidden.