Confraternity of St. Arethas & Companions

(Anonymous 18th century painting from Portugal, captioned “Saint Elesbaan having slaughtered Evil.” It depicts King Kaleb of Aksum during his crusade against the Kingdom of Himyar, c. 520 AD) Today, the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia celebrates the memorial of Saint Caleb of Ethiopia, a remarkable Christian ruler whose name is inseparably linked to the history of the Martyrs of Najran. His feast holds particular significance in the region, where the memory of the Najran narrative...

Today, January 29, the Catholic Church in the Arabian Peninsula liturgically celebrates the memorial of St. Isaac of Nineveh , bishop, mystic, and theologian of the Eastern tradition. Some time ago, we shared the remarkable story of how his icon came to grace the foyer of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain. We now continue that narrative with an equally inspiring development—one that has unfolded both in Rome and across the wider Christian world. When the late Pope Francis...

The Saturday (or Sunday) after the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated throughout the Arabian Peninsula as the Solemnity of Our Lady of Arabia . The origins of this devotion—and the story of how it has grown and flourished in the Gulf—are as remarkable as they are inspiring. Veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary under local or national titles is a hallmark of Catholic spirituality, reflecting the intimate bond between Mary and the diverse peoples of the world. From the earliest centuries,...