St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Sohar, Oman is part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering the countries of the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Yemen.
The St. Anthony's Catholic Church, located in Sohar, about 230 kms north of Muscat, was formerly inaugurated on 4 February 1994, by Archbishop Pablo Puente, Apostolic Nuncio in Lebanon and Apostolic Delegate to the Gulf. The first Mass, however, was celebrated on 15 August 1993 by Fr. Edward Saracini, who had been appointed as the first Parish Priest of the new parish.
Sohar (صحار) the most developed city in the Sultanate of Oman, outside the capital Muscat, was an ancient capital of Oman. Having a rich sailing tradition, Sohar was historically a fishing town up until recent times; today, it has transformed into a prominent industrial hub.
In the year 1989, during the pastoral visit of the then Apostolic Vicar of Arabia, Bishop Giovanni Bernardo Gremoli, the Catholics residing in Sohar expressed their desire to have a place of worship. Convinced of their necessity he presented a petition to the ruler, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said (قابوس بن سعيد آل سعيد). In an audience on 27 April 1991, His Majesty benevolently approved the petition and generously donated the land for building the Church.
On 24 March 1992, the foundation stone was laid for a church by Archbishop Erwin Josef Ender, Apostolic Delegate and Nuncio in Sudan in the presence of Bishop Gremoli.
Saint Anthony was born Fernando Martins in Lisbon, Portugal. He was born into a wealthy family and by the age of fifteen asked to be sent to the Abbey of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, the then capital of Portugal. During his time in the Abbey, he learned theology and Latin.
Once, when St. Anthony of Padua attempted to preach the true Gospel of the Catholic Church to heretics who would not listen to him, he went out and preached his message to the fish. This was not, as liberals and naturalists have tried to say, for the instruction of the fish, but rather for the glory of God, the delight of the angels, and the easing of his own heart. When critics saw the fish begin to gather, they realized they should also listen to what Anthony had to say.
He was only 36-years-old when he died and was canonized less than one year afterward by Pope Gregory IX. Upon exhumation some 336 years after his death, his body was found to be corrupted, yet his tongue was totally incorrupt, so perfect were the teachings that had been formed upon it.
He is typically depicted with a book and the Infant Child Jesus and is commonly referred to today as the "finder of lost articles."
St Anthony is venerated all over the world as the Patron Saint for lost articles, and is credited with many miracles involving lost people, lost things and even lost spiritual goods.
"Earthly riches are like the reed.Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul." — St. Anthony