The news of the visit of the Pope to the UAE had been the news for a while now as a major initiative during 2019, the Year of Tolerance. It was historic as the first time that the head of the Christian world visited the Gulf country and highly significant for the substantial Christian population of the area. Here are some of the highlights of the Papal visit to the UAE:
One of the highlights of the visit was the mass held at Abu Dhabi's sports stadium. The mass was a 90-minute long homily delivered in Italian; which was translated into English and Arabic as well.
An estimated 140,000 to 180,000 individuals had the opportunity to be in the presence of the religious head as he conducted mass. Faithful from different parts of the world had a once in a lifetime opportunity attend mass conducted by his Holiness.
The Pope met and interacted with people who had arrived to see him. In an amusing incident one little girl dodged security to crawl under the barricade to approach the Pope-mobile and handed over a note. A second little girl also came out of the crowd and approached the pope who bent down to hear the little ones before they were escorted away.
The parents of Steve Baiju were very keen that the Pope should bless their ten year old son, who has cerebral palsy. The pope was seen to lay his hands gently on the head of the boy sitting in a wheelchair, when he murmured a prayer the presence of the obviously emotional parents.
Another highlight of the pope's visit was the inter-religious meeting at the Founder's Memorial in Abu Dhabi. The pope addressed the gathering to speak about the need for peace and also referred to the ongoing conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Libya.
The Pope also attended a meeting with the Muslim Council of Elders at the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque. According to the Vatican, this was a "particularly cordial and fraternal" encounter.
The Pope was welcomed by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. There was an official reception for him at the Presidential Palace where he signed a guest book.
During the official reception, the Pope received an unusual gift: it was a a letter from the late Shaikh Shakbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1963, providing land for the construction of the first Catholic church in Abu Dhabi.
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