Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia

Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia Apostolicus Vicariatus Arabiae Septentrionalis النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية
Location
Country	Kuwait Bahrain Qatar Saudi Arabia
Statistics
Area	2,179,846 km2 (841,643 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2020) 43,463,583 2,722,000[1] (6.3%)
Churches	11
Information
Denomination	Catholic
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite, Maronite, Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, Coptic Catholic
Established	29 June 1953 (As Prefecture Apostolic of Kuwait) 2 December 1954 (As Apostolic Vicariate of Kuwait) 31 May 2011 (As Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia)
Cathedral	Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, Bahrain
Co-cathedral	Holy Family Co-Cathedral, Kuwait
Patroness	Our Lady of Arabia
Secular priests	54
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Apostolic Vicar	Aldo Berardi OSsT
Map
Website
Website of the Apostolic Vicariate

The Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (Latin: Vicariatus Apostolicus Arabiæ Septentrionalis) (Arabic: النيابة الرسولية العربية الشمالية) is an apostolic vicariate of the Catholic Church with territorial jurisdiction for Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The vicar apostolic of the vicariate is Bishop Aldo Berardi OSsT.^[2] It was first established in 1953 (as the Apostolic Prefecture of Kuwait) and took its current name in 2011.

The apostolic vicariate is led by a vicar apostolic, who is usually a titular bishop. While such a territory can be classed as a particular Church, according to canon 371.1 of the Latin Code of Canon Law, a vicar apostolic's jurisdiction is an exercise of the jurisdiction of the Pope – the territory comes directly under the Pope as "universal bishop", and the vicariate come directly under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Rome, where the pope exercises this authority through a "vicar".^[3] This is unlike the jurisdiction of a diocesan bishop, whose jurisdiction derives directly from his office.

The see of the apostolic vicar is in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain, with a co-cathedral, the Holy Family Co-Cathedral, located in Kuwait City which was the former seat of the vicariate.