Worshippers from across the UAE’s Christian denominations now have a shared burial ground in Sharjah, following the opening of a new cemetery and an adjoining chapel on June 3.
The site was dedicated by Bishop Paolo Martinelli, the Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, who led a brief rite of blessing on behalf of the emirate’s Christian congregations. Local officials attended the dedication, during which he consecrated both the cemetery and the chapel intended for funeral rites.
For the wider Christian population of the country — a community drawing on more than 150 nationalities — the addition carries practical weight, providing a dedicated space for burials and memorial services open to all denominations rather than a single church.
Bishop Martinelli framed the new facilities as evidence of how Christians are received by the authorities in the country. “The gift of this chapel and this new cemetery clearly demonstrates a profound sense of welcome towards Christians on the part of all local authorities, confirming that the UAE, and especially the Emirate of Sharjah, is a land of welcome and tolerance, a country with a culture of peaceful coexistence and working together for the common good and for a more fraternal and humane world,” he said.
The announcement was made public through the Facebook page of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, the Catholic jurisdiction that covers the UAE, Oman and Yemen and is seated at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi.
Sharjah already hosts a cluster of Christian places of worship, among them St. Michael’s Catholic Church, whose current premises date to the late 1990s, alongside Anglican and other denominational congregations that have long served the emirate’s expatriate faithful.
