Services at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Jebel Ali returned on Sunday after a nine-day halt, with church authorities setting firm crowd controls ahead of the resumption.
Parishioners who went to the Jebel Ali compound were admitted on a walk-in basis, with no advance booking required — a departure from the registration system adopted elsewhere. Entry remained capped at the building’s indoor seating limit, and the church made clear that crowd overflow would not be tolerated outside. “No gatherings permitted in outdoor areas,” the church said, instructing parishioners to “please disperse and exit immediately after service.”
Churches and temples in Dubai had closed on April 3 in what church leaders described as being in the interests of safety and well-being. The Jebel Ali parish, governed by the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, was among those that suspended services at that point, directing churchgoers to stay off the premises entirely.
Two areas within the compound will not reopen alongside the main church. The grotto — a well-known outdoor prayer space dedicated to the Virgin Mary — and the adoration chapel remain off-limits under the current safety protocols.
At St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Oud Metha, which resumed a day earlier on Saturday, the conditions for entry differ considerably. The parish requires online pre-registration through its website before any parishioner may attend a weekend Mass, and only adults aged 18 and above are permitted inside. Parish priest Father Leny Supe Escalada encouraged those unable to secure a slot to follow services through the church’s live stream. “For those unable to register in time for their preferred mass, I encourage you to participate prayerfully through online streaming,” he said.
St. Mary’s confirmed that only indoor facilities — including the main church, the Bishop Bernard Dremery Hall, the Bishop Paul Hinder Hall, and the rooms above Bishop Paul Hinder Hall — will be used for Masses, and that no other activities will be permitted within the compound.
