CV NEWS FEED // Saudi Arabia is home to roughly 1 million Catholics who practice their faith in private. In a new report, AsiaNews unpacks a situation faced by the community of mostly foreign workers who “worship hidden from the eyes of the world” in the Muslim-dominated country.

According to the international publication, although Catholics living in Saudi Arabia must practice their faith mostly in secret—worshiping only in remote locations such as in the compounds where they work or in embassies, as Churches are banned in the country—there is still a glimmer of hope. 

According to an interview AsiaNews conducted with an anonymous “diplomatic personality” who is familiar with Catholic life in Saudi Arabia, living as a Christian is no longer a matter of life and death under the current leadership of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and hope is alive that someday a Church may be built in the region. 

As of now, the source said, most Catholics go to Bahrain or other areas of the Northern Vicariate to attend Mass.  

The source told AsiaNews two major shifts in Saudi Arabia have led to increased hope for the faithful: the lack of previously stringent online censorship against Christians and positive socio-political advancements in the religious freedom sector.  

Since the community no longer lives under the censorship of the past, the source stated, the internet has made it possible for Christians to meet together with less risk.

“It has changed our lives,” the source continued: “because before, bringing sacred texts or Christian material was very difficult, even the Bible. Now with smartphones we have everything in the phone, the breviary, missals, we don’t have to carry anything anymore.”

Furthermore, the source noted a “gradual decrease in the influence of the religious police and moral volunteers (the Mutawa) who used to threaten people” over their religious affiliation. 

Now, Christian symbols such as the Cross, or even the Christmas tree, and those related to Valentine’s Day are no longer forbidden, although discretion is advised. 

The report also noted increased improvement of diplomatic relations between Church officials and the Saudi government.

“There is a long history of discreet presence in the region,” the source said of the Catholic community in Saudi Arabia, adding: “They are not just migrants passing through.”