Pontiff will hold a public Mass on UAE visit
Church launches website to keep excited Catholic community informed about pontiff’s trip, writes John Dennehy
Ahistoric public Mass is to be celebrated in Abu Dhabi to mark the milestone visit of Pope Francis to the UAE in February.
Details of the location are still being worked out but Paul Hinder, the Roman Catholic bishop for Southern Arabia, said it would be held on the morning of February 5.
“Arrangements are being put in place to make it possible for a maximum of our faithful to participate in this historic event,” Bishop Hinder said.
News of the Mass came as some of the one million Catholics living in the UAE spoke on Sunday of their excitement at the first trip by a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula.
“I missed Pope John Paul on both occasions he came to India,” said Nelson Elias, 58, who has lived in the UAE for 31 years. “So I will be very happy to see [Pope Francis] in the UAE. I plan to attend the public Mass with my family and people from across the country will come too.”
Ana Acosta from the Philippines was going to Sunday evening Mass in Abu Dhabi yesterday. She was also looking forward to the visit.
“Everybody is so excited,” said Ms Acosta, 47. “All my friends have been sending messages on Facebook since they first heard the news that the Pope was coming. It is big news. “I want to attend the Mass and Filipinos from Ras Al Khaimah to Fujairah will come for the event.”
Pope Francis will take part in an interfaith meeting during the two-night visit from February 3 to 5, along with other engagements. A website, where people will be able to find out more about the public Mass, has gone live.
“A detailed programme of the very short and tightly scheduled visit will be published before Christmas,” Bishop Hinder said. “The website will be the interface for all communications and queries for the Mass.”
Indian resident Shone Menachery said his cousin was a priest and had met Pope Francis.
“If I get the time to attend the Mass, I will,” said Mr Menachery, 28, also from Kerala. “It is a very positive development and the leaders of the UAE are so supportive.”
Filipina Isabel Monterero said she had only ever seen the Pope on TV but now hoped to see him in person next February.
“We love the Pope,” said Ms Monterero, 46, who will try to get the day off work for the public Mass. “It is very important that the Pope is coming.”
Catholics have enjoyed the freedom to worship here since before the country was formed. Formal relations between the UAE and the Vatican were established in 2007 but contact stretches back decades.
St Joseph’s Catholic church opened on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche in 1965.
The Ruler of Abu Dhabi at the time, Sheikh Shakhbut, attended the opening and an aerial photograph of the building shows it was then surrounded by nothing but sand. More Catholic churches were opened later.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said the visit of Pope Francis – spiritual leader of the world’s one billion Catholics – would help to build peace. And Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, said the Pope was a symbol of peace and tolerance.
“We look forward to a historic visit, through which we will seek dialogue on the peaceful coexistence among peoples,” Sheikh Mohamed said.
The visit by the pontiff, 81, will come a few days after his trip to Panama.