St. Francis Church, Abu Dhabi

St. Francis Church (كنيسة القديس فرنسيس) is a church on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The church is part of the Abrahamic Family House, an interfaith complex that includes a mosque, a synagogue and a church, built with the aim of promoting Interfaith dialogue. The church is named after St. Francis of Assisi.

History
The St. Francis Church was built as part of the Abrahamic Family House project which was announced in 2019 with aims to promote interfaith harmony and understanding among the followers of the Abrahamic religions.

It was officially inaugurated on 16 February 2023 by Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence.

On 19 February 2023, a solemn thanksgiving prayer service was conducted at the St. Francis Church, which was the first prayer service held at the Church. Cardinal Michael L. Fitzgerald, the representative of Pope Francis, delivered his address at the ceremony. Msgr. Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, a member of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity, welcomed everyone at the church. Bishop Paolo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, Bishop Paul Hinder, the Apostolic Vicar Emeritus, and Msgr. Kryspin Dubiel, the Charge D'Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in the United Arab Emirates and other dignitaries, clergy and lay representatives were present.

The church faces the direction of the rising sun, as light is considered symbolic of divinity. Its forest of columns is orientated in this direction to maximize the eastern light and emphasizes verticality to express the concepts of incarnation (or descent) and resurrection (or ascent) that are central to the Christian faith. The timber battens are inspired by rays of light and reference the altar at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. More than 13,000 linear metres of timber form the church's vaulting.