The Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Awali, Bahrain, dedicated to Our Lady of Arabia. It serves as the seat of the Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia. It was inaugurated on 9 December 2021 by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the King of Bahrain. It is the largest Catholic church in the Arabian Peninsula. Masses are conducted in various languages, reflecting the population of expatriates in the country, primarily English but also Arabic, Tagalog, Malayalam and, Konkani. History In a gesture of religious tolerance, On 11 February 2013, His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa generously donated 9,000 sq.m of land for the cathedral. On May 19, 2014, King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa met with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Place in the Vatican and presented a scale model of the largest church that would be built in the Arabian Peninsula, as a symbol of the Kingdom's commitment to tolerance and coexistence. The construction work began on May 31, 2014, after the Blessing of the Foundation Stone was done. The foundation stone was taken from the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican and was gifted to the faithful of Arabia as a sign of profound union with the Church of Rome. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on June 10, 2018, in the presence of Msgr. Camillo Ballin, the Papal Nuncio, Msgr. Francisco Padilla, and officials of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Following the demise of Msgr. Camillo Ballin on April 12, 2020, the construction was overseen by Msgr. Paul Hinder, whom Pope Francis appointed as the Apostolic Administrator of Northern Arabia. The design of the cathedral was created by the Italian designer and architect Mattia Del Prete and Cristiano Rosponi. The shape of the cathedral resembles a "tent" in which the Prophet Moses used to meet God in the Old Testament. The cathedral has a seating capacity of 2300, with two chapels and two large rooms with cubicles for confessions. The roof of the cathedral has an octagonal dome. In one of the chapels is revealed the patroness of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, "Our Lady of Arabia" – the Virgin Mary seated on a throne with a crown on her head, holding the Baby Jesus in her right hand and the rosary in her left hand. The "mystery crown artworks"