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ABU DHABI // St Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi set out 2,500 chairs for its Christmas Eve mass, but many still had to stand.

Thousands of Catholics dressed in their finest attire thronged to the church to attend the service and offer prayers.

Churchgoers said that although they would be happiest in their home countries come Christmas, the UAE offered them freedom to celebrate.

“We are here to thank Him for the blessings we are receiving the whole year,” said Mary-Ann Melendres, 34, from the Philippines, who was at the church with her family.

“This is the way to begin celebrating Christmas, especially when we are far from our parents and relatives.

“Celebrations here are different from home. We have quite big festivities back home on the day. I would say it’s much happier there. This is what we do here – we come to the church and pray in congregation,” Ms Melendres said.

She said she would enjoy Christmas Day with friends in a restaurant.

Father Gondoll at the St Joseph Cathedral thanked the country’s leadership for gifting land for the church 50 years ago.

“The UAE is the most tolerant country in the Arabian Gulf,” Fr Gondoll said. “For the past 50 years, hundreds of thousands of Catholics have practised their religion freely. In this country we have great freedom to practise.

“No matter whether you are Catholic, Anglican or Protestant, for all Christians, Christmas is the big feast. We celebrate the day remembering the birth of Jesus. It is a day of thanksgiving and honour.”

Catholics from more than 100 countries living in the UAE offered prayers, he said. “We have eight parishes in the UAE and this is the oldest,” Fr Gondoll said.

Fifty years ago Sheikh Shakhbout gifted land for the church on the Corniche. The church moved to Mushrif in 1983. According to the priest, there are about 800,000 Catholics in the UAE, most from the Philippines and India.

“Usually we have one mass on Christmas Eve, but today we have three mass prayers due to large number of people who are attending,” he said.

On Friday the church will hold 23 masses in 12 languages including English, French, German, Arabic, Italian, Polish, Urdu, Spanish, Sinhala, Konkani, Malayalam, Tamil and Tagalog.

“This is second time I have been far from my family and celebrating Christmas in the UAE. It’s very difficult but we need to celebrate,” said Angela Guevrra, 30, from Philippines. “This is thanksgiving to Him, forgiving and sharing. Celebrations here are calm and quiet, but still we love to be here,” she said.

“Christmas means to show your love, respect others, mend problems with others and forgive them. It is to reduce the pain inside you,” said Ms Guevrra, who has lived in the UAE for two years.

Constantino Lobo, an Indian, said: “My family is in India so that’s the only thing I miss here. I come to church every week.” Mr Lobo has lived in Abu Dhabi for 17 years.

Many Arabs also attended church. “It feels quiet here in the UAE, but in our country you would find more people involved in different kinds of festivities,” said Elie Shouriey, from Lebanon. “We feel good celebrating here in the UAE too, but you can’t compare with our countries’ celebrations,” Mr Shouriey, who has lived in Abu Dhabi for three years, said.

Catholics from more than 100 countries living in the UAE offered prayers at St Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi yesterday. There are about 800,000 Catholics in the UAE, most of them from the Philippines and India. Christopher Pike / The National