DUBAI — The most emblematic city of the Persian Gulf, famous for its skyscrapers, ostentatious opulence and mosques, is also home to one of the most popular Catholic parishes in the world: St. Mary’s in Oud Metha. Each weekend, tens of thousands gather there for Mass, with liturgies spilling into courtyards and school halls. Within the compound stands a replica of the Lourdes grotto, a quiet place of prayer hidden from the street — symbolic of a faith lived fervently yet discreetly in the city.
Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of seven emirates ruled by hereditary monarchies. Once a modest Gulf port, it has in just a few decades become a global hub of trade and tourism. This rapid transformation has shaped both the opportunities and the constraints for Christian communities, which remain largely confined to designated compounds. According to the latest available estimates, approximately 850,000 Catholics lived in the UAE in 2020 — around 9% of the total population — but local sources suggest that the numbers have increased rapidly since then, especially in Dubai.
Consecrated in 1989, St. Mary’s is one of two main Catholic parishes in the city, alongside St. Francis of Assisi in Jebel Ali, inaugurated in 2001. Together, they serve a population where foreigners make up the vast majority of residents. These two churches illustrate how Catholic life in Dubai combines extraordinary crowds, carefully managed freedoms, and deeply personal devotion in one of the most cosmopolitan — and tightly regulated — cities of the Middle East.
An Overflowing Parish
The scale of Catholic practice in Dubai is largely driven by demography. In the UAE, migrants and their children constitute nearly 90% of the population.
St. Mary’s, therefore, looks less like a village parish than a transit hub: multiple queues, constant crowd management, and a dense schedule designed to meet people where they are, by language, family configuration and work schedules. Parish teams regularly coordinate with police and municipal authorities each weekend to manage traffic and safety, a practical expression of the city’s blend of tolerance and order.
“On weekends, more than 200,000 Communion [Hosts] are distributed, and Masses are celebrated in every language, from Konkani to Tagalog, Malayalam to Urdu, English, Arabic, French, and Korean,” said Father Tanios Geagea, a Lebanese priest who has led the Arabic- and French-speaking communities at St. Mary’s since 2010. Masses run hourly or semi‑hourly throughout the weekend, with overflow crowds often filling nearby school halls. Clergy baptize hundreds of children each month and preside at large, shared wedding ceremonies. The church may not be among the tallest or grandest buildings in Dubai, but by most accounts it is one of the largest Catholic parishes in the world.
The Catholic population in Dubai is strikingly diverse, reflecting the city’s broader mosaic. Indian and Filipino Catholics form the largest groups, joined by sizeable Arab, African and European contingents. This cultural variety is both a pastoral challenge and a vivid sign of the Church’s catholicity in the most literal sense.
Faith Under Limits
Dubai’s climate of tolerance is real, but measured. Catholics can worship freely on parish grounds, run schools and catechism programs, and organize retreats, pilgrimages or parish fairs. But public religious visibility remains tightly circumscribed.
Permits, surveillance and oversight shape daily pastoral life. Crosses cannot be displayed on top of churches, and bells cannot be rung. At times, this is felt even during worship. For those following Mass from the courtyard due to lack of space inside, the reading of the Gospel can be completely drowned out by the Adhān (the Islamic call to prayer) from the imposing mosque across the street.
“We know the rules of the game; we have to accept them: It is a Muslim country that already granted us two churches,” Armelle Demont‑Lebert, a member of the French-speaking parish council, told the Register, acknowledging that the existing spaces are far from sufficient for the growing Catholic population. She added that the clergy is tightly controlled. “Visas for priests are difficult to obtain. In our community, we try to bring priests over regularly, even if only for short periods. It is not always easy.” According to her, about 15 priests are permanently assigned to St. Mary’s, with around 10 at St. Francis — a modest number given the immense Catholic population they serve.
Recalling that the Church’s presence in the Emirates is relatively recent — about six decades in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and less in other emirates — Father Geagea explained that the diocese’s “first priority has always been to accommodate people so everyone has at least enough room to pray and grow in faith. We haven’t tried to build churches in a Western style, nor asked for architectural markers to ‘look like’ churches. It hasn’t been our primary focus.”
Open Doors’ 2025 “World Watch List” confirmed this delicate balance. While expatriate Christians are free to worship in compounds, they are prohibited from evangelizing or praying in public. Local converts from Islam face the greatest pressure, often from their own families and communities, risking the loss of inheritance, jobs or even custody rights if their conversion becomes known. Many keep their faith hidden or relocate abroad.
Yet despite such restrictions, Catholics in Dubai enjoy a sense of security rare in the region. “Here nobody feels threatened — in life, in relationships or in convictions. Everyone is free to be what they are, as long as there is no proselytism,” Father Geagea said.
Dubai presents itself as safe, orderly and cosmopolitan, actively striving to attract international talent and capital. With foreigners comprising nearly nine in 10 residents, pragmatic tolerance is central to its identity.
Challenges of Growth
Pope Francis’ 2019 visit to Abu Dhabi — where he signed the “Document on Human Fraternity” with the grand imam of Al‑Azhar — marked a turning point for Catholic visibility and interfaith relations in the Gulf. It was followed by the inauguration of the Abrahamic Family House in 2023 and other interfaith initiatives. Against that backdrop, Catholic life in Dubai has continued to expand. Infrastructure, meanwhile, has grown gradually. Father Geagea confirmed that talks with authorities about constructing new churches are ongoing.
“Our French community, for instance, was small at first, but it has grown really fast, especially since 2019,” said Demont‑Lebert, who has lived in Dubai for more than five years. She estimated a 25% increase in the francophone parish since then, with about 2,000 regular faithful and more than 550 children in catechism classes. “Families here often have three to five children, and being far from home seems to deepen their faith.”
Reconciling a high‑velocity, consumerist culture with time for family and parish life is, however, a constant challenge to which the local clergy must adapt. Distances across the city also complicate participation. And for many migrants who left conflict zones or economic hardship, spiritual wounds often surface in Dubai. Some parishioners describe arrivals deeply disoriented by loss. The parish response has been to multiply small groups across age brackets — some with 150 to 200 participants — so that everyone can find a circle of community that feels like home.
Despite the challenges, clergy and laity remain hopeful that gradual openings and new initiatives will allow Catholic life in Dubai to keep flourishing. “For many, Dubai has been a blessing,” Father Geagea concluded. “People often leave with tears in their eyes because here they found a serenity for family life and for faith that they no longer experience back home. Here, no one makes fun of you because you go to church or because you have a third child, as can be the case in the West today. Amid real challenges, this city can become an unexpected refuge of faith, family and hope for the future.”