VATICAN CITY: A civil ceremony has been held to mark the opening of the Church of St. John the Baptist in the UAE city of Ruwais, just a week after the inauguration of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Bahrain. The church was built on a plot of land in the Al-Ruwais residential complex donated by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and the monarch’s representative in Al-Dhafra. The event was held in the presence of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. Located about 240 km west of Abu Dhabi, this is the first Catholic church in the Al-Dhafra region, which borders Qatar. It will cater mostly to about 600 immigrant families from other Asian nations who live and work in Ruwais. The church has capacity for about 800 people, while a multipurpose conference room on the second floor can hold almost 1,000. A statue of the Virgin Mary and a crucifix made for the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi during his historic 2019 trip to the Gulf have been placed inside the church. The first Mass will be held on Friday and will be presided over by Monsignor Paul Hinder, vicar apostolic of southern Arabia (the UAE, Oman and Yemen) and apostolic administrator sede vacante of northern Arabia (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain). The parish priest is the Rev. Thomas Ampattukuzhy, who has overseen the project and construction work since the laying of the foundation stone that was blessed by Hinder on Dec. 30, 2018. According to Vatican media, on the eve of the inauguration, the ecclesiastical leaders of the region wished to express their gratitude and thanks to the UAE royal family, emphasizing the spirit of “tolerance, fraternity and solidarity” that have long been the guidelines of the policy of the Emirates.