Are there churches in Bahrain?
Yes. Bahrain has churches, and this guide documents 5 of them. The Sacred Heart Church in Manama, whose foundation stone was laid in June 1939 and which was consecrated on 3 March 1940, is described by Vatican News as the oldest Catholic church on the Arabian Peninsula outside Yemen. Saint Christopher’s in Manama, built in 1953, is the Anglican cathedral, and the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia at Awali, on land donated by King Hamad, was consecrated in December 2021.
The candidates, and what each date means
| Place | Date | What the date refers to | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacred Heart Church, Manama (Catholic) | Consecrated 3 March 1940 | Church building; declared a sanctuary in November 2025 | Vatican News, 2025 |
| Saint Christopher’s Cathedral, Manama (Anglican) | Built 1953; cathedral since 1986 | Church building on land given by Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa | Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf |
| Saint Mary’s Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Manama | Parish 1959; first church consecrated February 1969 | Malankara Orthodox Syrian community | Cathedral history |
| Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Awali (Catholic) | Consecrated December 2021 | Cathedral building; 2,300 seats | Vatican News, 2021 |
Early churches and the oil company
The Sacred Heart Church was founded on Christmas Eve 1939, when its bells rang for the first time an hour before midnight; it is often called Bahrain’s mother church and has received pilgrims from across the region. At Awali, inside the BAPCO oil company compound, a small church is shared by Anglican and Roman Catholic communities; a letter dated 11 November 1944 in the British Library’s Bahrain church file discusses worship there while a new Anglican church was proposed for Manama. That church became Saint Christopher’s, built in 1953 with Persian stained-glass windows given by the British Political Resident at Bushire. It became a pro-cathedral in 1982 and a cathedral in 1986.
Bahrain’s churches today
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa donated the land for the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia and the bishop’s house in 2013. The cathedral, with a seating capacity of 2,300, was consecrated in December 2021, and since 2021 it shares the seat of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia with the Holy Family Co-Cathedral in Kuwait. In November 2025 the Vicariate declared the Sacred Heart Church a sanctuary. The Saint Mary’s Indian Orthodox parish was formally established in 1959. Pew Research Center estimates ≈ 200,000 Christian residents in Bahrain in 2020, 13.7% of the population, including migrant workers; it is an estimate, not a census count.
Limits of this answer
This guide documents 5 church buildings in Bahrain that it could source, not every congregation there. “Oldest Catholic church on the Arabian Peninsula outside Yemen” is Vatican News’s description, with Yemen explicitly excluded. Rules on worship can change, so this page gives no legal or travel advice.
Places mentioned
- Sacred Heart Church · Bahrain · Show on map
- Saint Christopher's Anglican Cathedral · Bahrain · Show on map
- Awali Church (Our Lady of the Visitation) · Bahrain · Show on map
- Saint Mary's Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Manama · Bahrain · Show on map
- Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia · Bahrain · Show on map
Related questions
Sources
Data and supplementary sources
- Roberto Paglialonga. “Bahrain’s Sacred Heart church declared a sanctuary”. Vatican News. Dicastery for Communication, Holy See, 2025. Article of November 2025.
- “Pope Francis’ letter for the consecration of Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral”. Vatican News. Dicastery for Communication, Holy See, 2021. Article of December 2021.
- “The Diocese”. Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Awali”. Saint Christopher’s Cathedral, Bahrain. Saint Christopher’s Cathedral, Bahrain, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Cathedral history”. Saint Mary’s Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Bahrain. Saint Mary’s Indian Orthodox Cathedral, Bahrain, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Global Religious Change, Appendix B”. Pew Research Center. Pew Research Center, 2025. Appendix B, 2010 and 2020 estimates.
Encyclopedia entries were read in full in their electronic editions; each is credited to its author. Page and column references appear only where the source prints them; the Gorgias dictionary is cited by entry title.