Sheikh Nahyan says he is proud to receive Pope Francis in the Emirates
The Minister of Tolerance has welcomed Pope Francis’s coming visit.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak said he was proud to receive the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, who will arrive in February.
Hundreds of thousands of worshippers are expected to join Pope Francis as he becomes the first pontiff in history to visit the Arabian Peninsula.
Sheikh Nahyan said he hoped the event would inspire the UAE to “redouble our efforts to nurture tolerance”, bridging differences with “universal values”.
“We are proud to welcome him as a friend, as an advocate for global peace and dialogue, and as a representative of a great world religion,” he told state news agency Wam yesterday. “The visit will reinforce the peace with which we have been blessed.”
The pope is due to arrive in Abu Dhabi from Rome late in the evening on February 3.
He will be met at the Presidential Airport by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
On the morning of February 5, a large public Mass will be held at Zayed Sports City with 100,000 people expected to attend. The Pope will fly back to Rome after the event.
“We Emiratis have welcomed the world to the UAE,” Sheikh Nahyan said. “Our remarkably diverse population lives and
works in peaceful and productive harmony, sheltered safely by a welcoming Arab tent.
“The willingness of us all, Emiratis and foreigners, to engage with people different from ourselves in a spirit of respect and empathy has ensured our success. We talk to one another. We learn from one another.
“We have come to understand and accept our differences. We have discovered the values that we share.”