WELCOME TO MALAYALAM CATHOLIC CONGREGATION, ST. MARY’S CHURCH, DUBAI.

The Lord Jesus commanded his disciples: “Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people.” (Mk.: 16: 15) This universal character is one of the most important dimensions of the Holy Catholic Church – the mystical body of Christ. One can literally observe and experience this universality at St. Mary’s Church, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is blessed with faithful from so many Nationalities, Cultures, Rites and Languages. This parish constitutes one of the largest Catholic communities in the world. There is harmony, unity and coordination among the faithful from different parts of the world. St. Mary’s Church has celebrated the golden jubilee year during 2016-’17 and was marked by a lot of liturgical, cultural and social activities. The single hand-written copy of the Bible in one sitting during three hours time under one roof by 1000 people in 51 languages manifests the unity in diversity of the parish. The original copy of this hand-written Bible was presented to Pope Francis, our Holy Father as our jubilee gift; it is now kept in the Vatican Library and a photo copy of the same is kept in our parish Church.

The people from the state of Kerala, India – the Malayalees – work and live in different parts of the world, and they live in large numbers in Dubai too. Our Malayalam Community at St. Mary’s parish is blessed with faithful from Latin Rite, Syro-Malabar Rite and from the Syro-Malankara Rite. The Holy Mass and other sacraments are celebrated in these Rites, besides faith formation and the animation. The parish conducts marriage preparation course in Malayalam for four days which is accepted in all the dioceses in Kerala. There are periodical meetings of the laity of the respective Rites for pastoral purposes and is organized by its laity wing.

The spiritual animation of the Malayalee community in the parish takes different forms. Besides annual retreat in Malayalam, annual Bible convention of the charismatic prayer groups is conducted. In addition, there are special retreats like christeen, bachelors and for families. Regular confessions are an important feature of spiritual animation in the parish. Special pastoral care is given to the people who live in the labour camps so that they can participate the Holy Mass in the Church and have the regular confession . For the over-all animation of the Malayalee community, the general Committee of Malayalam Catholic Congregation meets at regular intervals and plans various activities in the parish. The M.C.C executive is convened twice a month in order to coordinate all these activities.

The Malayalee community contributes significantly to the universal character of the Church in St. Mary’s parish. In a congregation with Catholics from different nationalities of the world, their contribution to living Christian faith is considerable. It is a life of unity in diversity in the Trinitarian spirit, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Fr. Alex Mathew Vachaparambil, O.F.M.Cap.
Email : avachacap@yahoo.com