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Christians in Arabian peninsula welcomes first Pope’s visit to UAE

cde.news desk · 1 min read
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epa07340969 Pope Francis (L) is welcomed by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, upon his arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport, United Arab Emirates, 03 February 2019. Pope Francis arrived on three-day visit to the UAE, making him the first pontiff to visit an Arab Gulf state. He will attend an interreligious conference and lead a mass at the Zayed Sports City. The UAE is a Muslim-majority county, however there are some 1.2 million Christian expatriate population. EPA-EFE/ANDREW MEDICHINI / POOL

Pope Francis has arrived in the United Arab Emirates for the first ever visit by a pontiff to the Arabian peninsula.

He landed in Abu Dhabi where he was greeted by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Christian pilgrims are not often seen in the Arabian peninsula, where Islam was born. But they are flocking to one of its emirates, Abu Dhabi, for its first papal mass.

The Pope will take part in an interfaith conference and on Tuesday hold Mass in which 120,000 people are expected to attend.

More than 100,000 are preparing to pack the Zayed stadium, adorned with a big cross, to celebrate the Eucharist with Pope Francis. Hotels are full of pilgrims chanting hosannas.

Some hold standards bearing the Christian dove of peace tweaked with wings the colours of the United Arab Emirates (uae) flag. The pope is “a symbol of peace, tolerance and the promotion of brotherhood”, says Muhammad bin Zayed, the crown prince, de facto ruler and papal host.

Topics Pope FrancisUAE

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