Abu Dhabi: His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed H.E Msgr. Paulo Martinelli OFM Cap., as the new Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia. Msgr Paulo Marinelli currently serves as the Auxiliary Bishop of Milan. The appointment came following the resignation of the current Bishop Paul Hinder and was announced by the Vatican at 12 noon Italian time.
The letter regarding the appointment came from Msgr. Kryspin Dubiel, the Charge D’Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in the United Arab Emirates and states that :
His Holiness Pope Francis, in view of the pastoral care of the Catholic faithful residing in the United Arab Emirates, has taken the following decisions.
His Holiness Pope Francis has accepted the resignation presented by His Excellency Msgr. Paul Hinder, the present Apostolic Vicar of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia from the pastoral governance, upon reaching his retirement age.
His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed His Excellency Msgr. Paolo MARTINELLI, currently Auxiliary Bishop of Milan, as successor to His Excellency Msgr. Paul Hinder as the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia. Until the canonical installation of H E Msgr. Paolo MARTINELLI as the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, Pope Francis has appointed H E Msgr. Paul Hinder as the Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia.
Paolo Martinelli is an Italian-born Capuchin friar and a professor at the Antonianum and Gregorian Universities. He joined the Capuchin order when he was twenty years old. He took his vows in 1984 and was ordained a priest the year after. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. From 1992, he worked as a professor at his former Alma Mater for ten years.
Besides the Pontifical Gregorian University, he was also teaching at the Antonianum, where he is the Dean of the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality. In addition, he also works as an advisor of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He was appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of Milan by Pope Francis. Since 2015, he has been the member of the Episcopal Conference of Italy. Since 2018, he has been the Episcopal Vicar for Consecrated Life.
Bishop Paul Hinder was leading the vicariate since 2003. On 20 December 2003, Bp. Paul Hinder was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Arabia and was ordained as Bishop on 30 January 2004 in Abu Dhabi. On 21 March 2005, he succeeded Msgr. Bernardo Gremoli as Vicar Apostolic of Arabia (UAE, Oman, Yemen, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia).
After the Vicariate of Arabia was divided into the Northern and Southern Vicariates in 2011, Bishop Paul was appointed to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (UAE, Oman, Yemen).
Bishop Paul Hinder who recently celebrated his 80th Birthday, is a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, a consultor to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. He is also a member of the Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions.
On 13 May 2020, he was also appointed as The Apostolic Administrator "sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis" of Northern Arabia (Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia).