St. Francis Church

St. Francis Church is the Catholic house of worship within the Abrahamic Family House on Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. The interfaith complex, which also contains Eminence Ahmed El-Tayeb Mosque and Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, was inaugurated on 16 February 2023. The church is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, whose association with peace and fraternity is central to its religious identity.

The Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia records that the first Christian prayer service was held there in February 2023. A later canonical milestone occurred on 3 November 2024, when the church was formally blessed and its altar dedicated. The Vicariate also states that the church was gifted by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Pope Francis and the Holy See, that pastoral care was entrusted to Apostolic Vicar Bishop Paolo Martinelli, and that the church is canonically included within St. Joseph’s Parish.

Architecturally, it is one of three equal-scale worship buildings designed by Sir David Adjaye and Adjaye Associates for the Abrahamic Family House. Its significance rests on Catholic worship, dedication to St. Francis and the wider project’s interfaith purpose, not on any verified miracle or apparition claim. The official complex website was displaying a temporary-closure notice when checked on 27 September 2026.