Confraternity of St. Arethas & Companions

Among the saints locally commemorated by the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, few are as extraordinary—or as captivating—as St. Simeon Stylite (Greek: Συμεών ό Στυλίτης; Syriac: ܫܡܥܘܢ ܕܐܣܛܘܢܐ, romanized: Šimʕun dʼAstˁonā; Arabic: سمعان العمودي, romanized: Simʿān al-ʿAmūdī), whose memorial is celebrated on July 27. Living more than fifteen centuries ago, this humble monk transformed a solitary pillar in the Syrian wilderness into one of the greatest centers of Christian pilgrimage and...

(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...