Are there churches in Oman?
Yes. Oman has churches in Muscat, Salalah and Sohar, and this guide documents 7 of them: four Catholic and three belonging to the Protestant Church of Oman. The first, Saints Peter and Paul in Ruwi, Muscat, was consecrated on 4 November 1977 and is remembered as the first church blessed in the Sultanate. Land for the churches was given by the state: in Salalah, Sultan Qaboos bin Said gave the land in 1979, and the present church there was opened in 2019 in the presence of an official of Oman’s Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
The candidates, and what each date means
| Place | Date | What the date refers to | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saints Peter and Paul, Ruwi (Catholic) | First church consecrated 4 November 1977; present church blessed 10 March 1995 | Two buildings on one site; the first church blessed in the Sultanate | Parish history |
| Saint Francis Xavier, Salalah (Catholic) | Land 1979; first small church 1984; present church opened 7 September 2019 | Church building on a compound given by the Sultan | Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia news |
| Protestant Church of Oman, Ruwi | Groundbreaking 1975; new building 2011 | Shared campus of the Reformed Church in America and Anglican partnership | Protestant Church of Oman history |
| Protestant Church of Oman, Sohar | Dedicated 30 October 1997 | Church building; land granted in 1992 | Church website |
Catholic churches
The Catholic church in Ruwi grew with the expatriate workers who came to Oman over the twentieth century. Bishop Bernardo Gremoli, Apostolic Vicar of Arabia, sent Fr. Bartholomew Kestell, the first resident priest in Oman, to begin building it, and Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy consecrated it in 1977. A decade later Muscat needed a second church, because many families lived far from Ruwi, and Holy Spirit Church in Ghala followed. In Salalah, an ecumenical centre was opened in 1981 and dedicated to the Three Magi, after a tradition that one of the kings came from this frankincense region; a small church of Saint Francis Xavier followed in 1984.
The Protestant Church of Oman, and Christians today
The Protestant Church of Oman grew from cooperation between the Reformed Church in America and the Anglican Church. Its Ruwi campus provides worship space for congregations of several languages and traditions; its Ghala compound was dedicated in 1989, and its Sohar church in 1997 after land was granted in 1992. Pew Research Center estimates ≈ 370,000 Christian residents in Oman in 2020, 8.1% of the population, including migrant workers; Pew attributes the rise since 2010 to immigration. It is an estimate, not a census count.
Limits of this answer
This guide documents 7 church buildings in Oman that it could source, not every congregation that meets there. Dates come from the parishes and churches themselves. Rules on worship can change, so this page gives no legal or travel advice; check current guidance with official sources.
Places mentioned
- Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church · Oman · Show on map
- Holy Spirit Catholic Church · Oman · Show on map
- Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church · Oman · Show on map
- Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church · Oman · Show on map
- Protestant Church of Oman, Ruwi · Oman · Show on map
- Protestant Church of Oman, Ghala · Oman · Show on map
- Protestant Church of Oman, Sohar · Oman · Show on map
Related questions
Sources
Data and supplementary sources
- “About us”. Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Ruwi. Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Ruwi, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Opening of the new Saint Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church at Salalah”. Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia. Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia, 2019. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Our history”. Protestant Church of Oman. Protestant Church of Oman, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “About us”. Holy Spirit Church, Ghala. Holy Spirit Church, Ghala, n.d.. Source cited on the place profile.
- “Protestant Church of Oman, Sohar”. PCO Sohar. PCO Sohar, 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.