Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia

The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia is an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction over Oman, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. The current vicar apostolic is Paolo Martinelli.
It was first established in 1888 and took its current name in 2011. The see of the vicar apostolic is in Saint Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. Since 1916, it has been in the care of the Capuchins of Florence.

History

The territory was originally part of the Vicariate Apostolic of the Gallas, but it was separated into an apostolic prefecture by Pope Pius IX on 21 January 1875. On 25 April 1888, Pope Leo XIII made the Apostolic Vicariate of Aden, located in Yemen. On the 28 June 1889, the name was changed to the Vicariate Apostolic of Arabia, responsible for the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding region: Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Somalia and Yemen.
On 29 June 1953, the then Apostolic Prefecture of Kuwait was separated from the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia. In 1973, the see of the jurisdiction was transferred from Aden to St. Joseph's Cathedral in Abu Dhabi. A subsequent redrawing of boundaries in 2011 reduced its jurisdiction to the countries of Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The vicariate has been governed by the Capuchin friars since 1916.