Members of a Catholic church in Dubai have mounted an ambitious project in celebration of its Golden Jubilee. At least 2,000 parishioners helped in creating the biggest handwritten Bible ever containing 52 languages to mark St. Mary's Church's 50th anniversary.
"It was a bright but challenging task," Father Lennie JA Connully told reporters. "We invited people, and people speaking 52 languages came forward. The next task was to collect 52 bibles in different languages."
St. Mary's Church is one of the biggest Catholic churches in the world, with thousands of members. Many parishioners were excited to take part in submitting handwritten Bible passages but the church eventually chose and assigned specific tasks to 2,000 members who had good penmanship.
They all sat down in the classrooms of St. Mary's Catholic High School one afternoon in March 2017 to write the Bible pages in their native language. After organizing their sections, the group eventually produced a 48-pound (22kg) specially bound handwritten Bible with each of the languages used featured on the book's spine.
Connully said that they presented this Bible to Pope Francis via Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, the ambassador to the Pope during St. Mary's Golden Jubillee last year. They also reproduced another copy that is on display at the church.
Emolyn Bucsit, who participated in the project, said that the Pope might have been surprised by their gift but she's proud of their project. She said: "It is a sign of unity in the church, everyone came together regardless of culture, race or nationalities."
Rev. Fr. Eusebius Daveri built the church in 1967 with the help of former Prime Minister Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. But as the church grew, the site underwent a few renovations to accommodate its increasing members.
