What You Need to Know about the Pope’s UAE Visit

The visit from the head of the Catholic world is always a significant event. Now that the Pope is scheduled to visit the UAE, the faithful have their eyes trained on his arrival into the country. Here is what you need to know about the visit of the Pope to the UAE:

The year of tolerance

The official twitter account for the news of HH Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made this announcement. Among the various different initiatives to promote tolerance, coexistence and dialogue between different peoples and cultures, the visit of the Pope is to be one such initiative. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince extended an invitation while on a visit to the Vatican.

Three day itinerary

The Pope is scheduled to visit the UAE for a three day visit starting on 3 February 2019. The Pontiff will land at the Abu Dhabi Presidential airport, where he will be received by the Abu Dhabi crown prince and other dignitaries.

Official engagements

On 4 February, the Pope will be officially welcomed into the Presidential Palace and will then make an official visit to the palace and the crown prince.

The primary reason for the Pope’s visit

On the 4th of February, the pope will also visit the Grand Mosque. He will thereafter attend the Muslim Council of Elders. After this will be the International Interfaith Meeting, which will be held at the Founder's Memorial. This is to be the main reason for the Pope's UAE visit.

Visit to the cathedral and papal mass

On the 5th of February, the Pope will make a visit to the Abu Dhabi cathedral. After this will be the much anticipated Holy Mass at the Zayed Sports City Stadium. UAE being home to about one million Catholics, it is expected that this will be historic event, where all the attendees would be hoping to catch a glimpse of the Holy Father and Bishop of Rome. After this, there will be a farewell ceremony at the Abu Dhabi presidential airport and the Pope will then depart back to Rome.

Tickets for the event

Those wishing to attend the Mass with the Pope on 5 February, will have to have a valid pass for the event. Though the capacity of the stadium is about 120,000 there is still likely to be a clamour to attend this once in a lifetime opportunity for the faithful. Paul Hinder, Catholic Bishop for southern Arabia has said that efforts are being made to ensure that the tickets are distributed in the fairest way possible. Tickets will be available from various churches and parishes in the UAE.

Beware of unathorised tickets

Since this is the first ever official trip of the Pope to the UAE, it is attracting a lot of attention. There are also likely to be several people who may try to fool people into buying unathorised tickets for the mass. The office of the UAE Papal Visit website has warned people against getting conned. "The faithful are requested to be on their guard against anyone offering tickets for sale or offering tickets through unauthorised channels," says a statement. Further details are given on the website; as the website screen grab shows.

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