Dubai: Thousands of worshippers flocked on Christmas Eve to St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai to celebrate the annual Christian festival.
On Saturday evening, a seemingly endless line of Catholics could be seen walking to the large church compound in Oud Metha.
Along their way, canny market traders — some wearing festive Santa hats — hawked Christmas cakes from tinsel-decked vans.
Inside the compound’s walls, worshippers wandered among the lights, giant tree and nativity scenes portraying the birth of Christ.
Some of the worshippers — a mix of residents and tourists — said that visiting the church on Christmas Eve helped keep their festive spirits up.
“In St Mary’s, we feel like we are celebrating Christmas,” said Shiena Marie, a Filipina expat, who had come to the mass straight after her job. “That’s why we always visit here.”
“Christmas is for our Christ, who is now risen by this time,” chimed in her friend, Louise Balmeo.
An Indian tourist who was visiting Dubai with his wife said that the Christmas gathering showed how open the UAE was to different faiths and nationalities.
“This has been one of the most open and receptive states for all kinds of people,” said Jackson Kuruppachery.
The Catholic Keralite couple had just attended the French-language mass. Both do not speak French.
“The language is not very important,” he said, sipping on a foam tea cup.
“It’s the ceremony that is important.”
The vicar general at Saint Mary’s, Fr. Lenny Connully, said he and his team of 12 priests would be leading a total of 11 masses over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
They expect to see 80,000 to 100,000 worshippers over the two festive days and are keen for the Christmas message to reach all the way to the heart.
“Christmas cuts across nationalities, cultures, even the commercial world,” said Fr. Connully.
“We meet people of our own country, where they were indifferent to religion. But when they come here, they become deeply religious,” he told Gulf News in his office on Saturday morning.
Nearby, in the church’s main hall, some worshippers had chosen to spend the morning on the long wooden pews, deep in silent prayer and reflection.
“That’s why you’ll see, there’s no function going on right now at the church, but people are here to pray.”
-Love, joy and peace-
Having served as a priest for 40 years, and two years in his current role, Connully is keen to reflect what he feels is the significance of Christ’s birth to the modern world.
“Jesus’s message is for the whole world, because it’s a message of love, joy, and peace,” he said.
“Who does not want love, who does not want joy, who does not want peace?”
While the church does not keep statistics, Connully, who has served as a priest for four decades, estimates that people from 30 to 40 nationalities gather at the compound.
Along the same street as St. Mary’s, Holy Trinity Church, which serves Anglican worshippers, will hold a special service at 9.30am, and an evening service at 7.30.
Filipinos, closely followed by Indians, are the most common nationalities who worship at the church. There are also significant numbers of Arabs and Europeans, the priest added.
The church also counts smaller communities of Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese.
At the Jebel Ali Village church complex, home to dozens of different denominations, church leaders are expecting a busy Christmas day.
Christmas services will be held at Christ Church, an Anglican parish, and the non-denominational United Christian Church of Dubai at 10am.
Nearby, at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, four masses in English will be held in the morning, and two in the evening.
On Christmas Eve, the church held its special ceremonial mass at 11pm.
Christmas Day worship timings:
At St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Oud Metha
Morning masses at 5.30, 7, 8.30, 10am
Evening masses at 3, 4.30, 6, 7.30pm
At Holy Trinity Church, Oud Metha
Morning service at 9.30am
Evening service at 7.30pm
At St. Francis of Assisi Church, Jebel Ali church complex
Morning masses at 6.15, 7.30, 9, 11am
Evening masses at 7, 8pm
Evening mass at 6pm
