KUWAIT (Agencies): In a historic development for the Catholic community in the Gulf, Pietro Cardinal Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, arrived in Kuwait on January 15 to preside over the elevation of the Church of Our Lady of Arabia in Ahmadi to the status of minor basilica, according to Fides.
Pope Leo XIV conferred the title on 28 June 2025, recognising the church’s historical and spiritual significance as the oldest Catholic church in both Kuwait and the Gulf region, Vatican News reported.
Upon arrival, Cardinal Parolin was welcomed at the airport by Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent, the apostolic nuncio; Bishop Aldo Berardi, the apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia; Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, prime minister of Kuwait; and priests of the vicariate.
During his first day in Kuwait, the cardinal met with priests and religious at the Holy Family Co-Cathedral, conveying greetings and encouragement from Pope Leo XIV and expressing gratitude for their dedication, often carried out far from home and amid challenging circumstances.
“The Lord does not look for perfect priests, but humble hearts,” he said, urging them to be “priests of love, not of perfection; priests who are joyful because we know we are chosen and loved by the Lord.”
This basilica reminds us that Mary herself once found refuge in those same desert lands, where she cared for, raised, and safeguarded the one Mediator between God and the human family, Jesus Christ
Cardinal Parolin
Later that day, Cardinal Parolin led Mass at the co-cathedral to commemorate the 65th anniversary of its consecration, describing it as “an authentic meeting place of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, a safe harbour, and a place of peace and harmony.”
He subsequently greeted representatives of various Christian Churches and communities in the Gulf, ahead of an upcoming ecumenical meeting marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Vatican News reported.
“Built upon the sands of the desert,” Cardinal Parolin said on January 16, during the Mass, for the elevation of the church to the status of Minor Basilica, “This basilica reminds us that Mary herself once found refuge in those same desert lands, where she cared for, raised, and safeguarded the one Mediator between God and the human family, Jesus Christ,” he said.
Cardinal Parolin described the occasion as “truly historic,” not only “for the Church in Kuwait, but for the Church throughout the entire Arabian Peninsula.”
The cornerstone of the church was blessed by Pope Pius XII before being sent to Kuwait. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1955, and the church was consecrated to Our Lady of Arabia in April 1956
The history of Ahmadi’s ‘mother church’ dates back to 1948, when a former power station was converted into a chapel and the first Mass was celebrated on the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the same year, Father Theophano Stella was appointed the first resident priest in Kuwait, later becoming the country’s first apostolic vicar.
In 1952, the Kuwait Oil Company granted permission for the construction of a new church in Ahmadi, which would become known as the ‘mother church’ of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, encompassing Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
The cornerstone of the church was blessed by Pope Pius XII before being sent to Kuwait. The foundation stone was laid on 8 September 1955, and the church was consecrated to Our Lady of Arabia in April 1956.
