Bahrain: A new shepherd for the Northern Arabia Apostolic Vicariate, notable for the presence of tens of thousands of expatriates, including Malayalis. French missionary and Trinitarian monastic Mon. Pope Francis appointed Aldo Berardi as the new Vicar Apostolica. He was elected to the new assignment while serving as Vicar General of the Trinitarian Congregation. The inauguration date will be announced later.
This is the first time that a priest from outside the Capuchin Church has been appointed to the post of president of the Vicariates (Northern and Southern) in Arabia. The Northern Arabia Vicariate has been under the administration of an administrator since 2020 after the tenure of Bishop Camilo Balleen, who was the first Vicar Apostolic of Northern Arabia. The Apostolic Administrator was Bishop Paul Hinder OFM, who presided over the Southern Arabia Vicariate.
Mon on September 30, 1963 in Longueville-les-Metz, France. Birth of Aldo Berardi. Between 1982 and 1984, he was a philosophy student at the Major Seminary in Villers-les-Nancy and served as a missionary in Madagascar for two years. Then in 1986 he entered the novitiate of the Trinitarian Church. He completed his studies in theology at the Montreal Major Seminary in Canada and made vows in 1990. The Tiruppatta reception was in 1991.
He began his ministry as a parish priest in Ars-sur-Moselle, France, and then held the positions of school chaplain, mental health center chaplain, Boy Scout assistant and Catholic Action assistant. From 2000 to 2006, he served at St. Baqita Center in Egypt, which shelters Sudanese refugees. From 2007 to 2010, he was the vicar of the Sacred Heart Parish in Manama, the capital of Bahrain.
An apostolic vicariate is an administrative system similar to a diocese established in situations where it is technically difficult to establish a diocese. There are two Vicariates in Arabia. The Vicariate of Northern Arabia includes the countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, and the Vicariate of Southern Arabia includes Yemen, Oman, and the UAE. These vicariates are also notable for providing pastoral care to lakhs of expatriates, including Malayalis.