MANAMA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The largest cathedral in the Gulf region opened on Thursday in Awali, the southern part of Bahrain, highlighting Bahrain's religious tolerance.

The state-of-the-art Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral was inaugurated by King Hamad's Personal Representative Shaikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa.

The new cathedral covers a land of 9,000 square metres, which was donated by the king.

"There is a royal pride in opening the largest cathedral" in the Gulf region, Shaikh Abdullah was quoted as saying by the Bahrain News Agency.

Shaikh Abdullah, who opened the cathedral by lighting a crystal ball, a replica of the seven such in Vatican, highlighted Bahrain's commitment to promoting dialogue between religions, cultures and civilizations.

The cathedral, which has 2,200 seating capacity, includes an 800-seat auditorium, two 80-seat chapels, and eight confession rooms.

There are around 80,000 Catholic community members in the Muslim-majority Bahrain. Enditem