A decade after the blessing of Saints Peter and Paul Church, Ruwi, the need for another place of worship was felt, as the Christian community grew in number. With the expansion of the capital city, a large number of Catholics began residing away from the commercial area. They were deprived of spiritual nourishment, due to the distance to Ruwi and the lack of regular transport. Therefore, in 1986, the Late Rev. Fr Barnabas Maddii, briefed His Lordship Bishop Bernard G. Gremoli, who in turn approached His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, who once again, in his benevolence, donated a plot of land in the serene surroundings of Ghala, thus paving the way for the consecration of our beloved Parish, ‘The Church of the Holy Spirit’
His Lordship Bishop Bernard G. Gremoli laid the foundation stone on March 22, 1987 and in November 27, 1987, the Church dedicated to ‘The Holy Spirit’ was inaugurated and blessed by His Excellency Luiz Roblez Diaz, Apostolic Delegate from Khartoum. In April 1988, Fr Barnabas was transferred to Ghala as its first Parish Priest. Two years later, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said generously gifted a beautiful pipe organ to our church, the only one in the Vicariate of Arabia. In the following years ‘The Holy Family Recreational Centre’ comprising of a hall, classrooms and basketball court was built along with the Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes. The first Parish Council was formulated and the inaugural meeting took place in September 1990.
In June 1992, Rev. Fr Varghese Chempoly was appointed Assistant to Fr Barnabas. In the next year the church bulletin ‘The Voice’ was published and the Library, the Thrift Shop and refreshment kiosk were opened. Rev. Fr Barnabas retired from active Parish work on October 5th 1995. He handed over the reins of the Parish to Rev. Fr Varghese Chempoly, who was joined by Rev. Fr Jesus Gueco. With the increase in job opportunities in Oman, there was an influx of expatriates all over Oman and to cater to their growing spiritual needs, Rev. Fr Maria Antony was transferred from Ruwi to Ghala in April 1996. The church celebrated its 10th Anniversary on October 17th 1997 and Rev. Fr Barnabas was invited as Chief Guest. With the transfer of Rev. Fr Varghese Chempoly to Ruwi Parish in February 1999, Rev. Fr Jesus Gueco took over as Parish Priest and Rev. Fr Joseph Thyagraj joined him as Assistant Parish Priest. However, due to ill health, Fr Jesus Gueco retired and Fr Joseph Thyagraj took over as Parish Priest on November 12th, 2000. On the same day Rev. Fr Zaki M. Parra from the Philippines arrived as Assistant. Year 2001 saw the beginning of summer camps for the youth of the Parish.
In June 2003, Fr Maria Antony returned to his home province in India and was replaced by Rev. Fr. Bose. Shortly after, in January 2004, Fr Joseph Thyagraj left for India for medical reasons and Rev. Fr Chacko Manniserril was appointed Parish Priest. Also, Fr Zaki was transferred to Dubai. In March 2006, with the appointment of Rev. Fr Varghese Chempoly as Vice Provincial of the newly formed Arabian Province of Sts Peter and Paul, Fr Chacko returned to Ruwi as Parish Priest and the Ghala parish witnessed the arrival of Rev. Fr John Fernandaz from Jebel Ali as the new incumbent. In April 2006 Fr Raul Ramos joined the Ghala parish but he was transferred to Ruwi as Parish Priest in March 2007.
The disastrous Cyclone Gonu which struck the Sultanate on June 6, 2007 and the consequent floods severely damaged the church building and its surroundings. Frs John and Bose had a miraculous escape, but the indefatigable efforts of the priests and the parishioners helped restore the church to its former glory in just over a month, thus setting a shining example of a deep love and concern they have for their holy place of worship.
Once again, the Parish owes its gratitude to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, for his benevolence and support to the Church, during and after cyclone ‘Gonu’.
In February 2010 Fr John Fernandaz returned to his home province in India and Rev. Fr Albert D’Silva was transferred from Ruwi Parish and installed as Parish Priest of Ghala on February 26 2010 Fr Christudas joined as Assistant Parish Priest in May 2008. In July 2011, Fr Boss returned to his home province in India. In January 2012, Fr Christudas returned to his home province in India.
In place of Fr. Boss, Fr. Selvaraj came and in place of Fr. Christudas, Fr Mathew stepped in. However their stay was shortlived, and they both moved back to India by mid-2013.
After almost 6yrs, as Parish Priest, Fr. Albert D'Silva handed over the reigns by end September 2015 to Fr. Wilson Rumao.
In March 2016, Fr, Johnson moved out of Muscat and Fr. Anthony also moved out by the end of the year.
After a short but extremely eventful stint of two and a half years, Fr. Wilson Rumao has been transferred to Abu Dhabi.
In Nov 2018, Fr. Thomas John moved back to India after two years in Muscat. Fr. Philip Nellivila was transferred to Ruwi in April 2022.
Today the Holy Spirit Church Parish is in the capable hands of our loving pastors, Rev. Fr. George Vadukkut, Rev. Fr. Sebastian, Rev. , Rev. Fr. Catalino Miranda and Rev. Fr. Kozhaya Karam.