Catholics in Abu Dhabi welcome Pope
Pontiff uses visit to reach out to Muslims
The main stadium in Abu Dhabi was a sea of yellow-and-white Vatican flags on Tuesday as Pope Francis arrived in warm sunlight to lead an open-air mass for tens of thousands of Catholics.
The main stadium in Abu Dhabi was a sea of yellow-and-white Vatican flags on Tuesday as Pope Francis arrived in warm sunlight to lead an open-air mass for tens of thousands of Catholics.
More than 135,000 worshippers, including from warwracked Yemen, cheered as the pontiff was driven into the Zayed Sports City Stadium.
Standing in the back of a white Mercedes-Benz convertible with the hood down, the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula delivered blessings to those fortunate enough to secure tickets to the unprecedented openair service.
He has used his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to reach out to Muslims as well as highlighting Yemen’s devastating conflict, in which the UAE is a key player.
One member of the congregation held a large pink poster reading: “We the Catholics of Yemen love you.”
In the middle of the arena, a simple cross stood on an altar along with a statue of Mary carrying a baby Jesus.
“If I talk to you about this, I will cry,” said Lucy Watson, an Indian volunteer at the stadium. “This is my faith, and Jesus is everything to me. This is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to see the pope in my own eyes.”
Between 135,000 and 170,000 Christians from parishes across the UAE boarded 2,000 buses in the early hours of Tuesday to head to the capital, Abu Dhabi, along streets lined with Vatican City and UAE flags.
By 8am, worshippers of about 100 nationalities had filled the stadium. Many families brought along children and the stadium thronged with people wearing white caps imprinted with the pope’s name and the date of his visit.
The UAE borders Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, but unlike its neighbour allows Christians to practise their faith discreetly.
The fervour was palpable among the congregation, which erupted into cheers and tears when the pope arrived.
“I came from Dubai. I left my house about midnight and went to the church” to get the bus, said Rosie McFadden, from Scotland. “Then [I] walked for about three hours when I got here,” she said. “I know [people] who had a tough year last year, and I’m praying for them to have a good one this year.”
More than 85% of UAE residents are expatriates, including about a million Catholics, the vast majority of them from the Philippines and India.
Four thousand Muslims also attended the mass.
A handful of women in traditional black abayas could be seen carrying Vatican City flags as men in long white gowns walked to their seats.
While the crowd was instructed not to carry banners or flags other than that of the Vatican, the Palestinian flag could be spotted held aloft near the Yemen poster.
At an interfaith meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday, the pope called for an end to wars including in Yemen.
The UAE is part of a Saudiled coalition fighting on the side of the government in the Arab world’s poorest country, battling Houthi rebels in a conflict that has pushed millions of Yemenis to the brink of starvation.
CARING FOR REFUGEES
Pope Francis, the son of Italian immigrants and raised in Argentina, has also made caring for migrants and refugees a key focus of his papacy.
“It is most certainly not easy for you to live far from home, missing the affection of your loved ones, and perhaps also feeling uncertainty about the future,” he told the vast congregation during his sermon. “But the Lord is faithful and does not abandon his people.”
His words hit home for many in Abu Dhabi.
“This is a big world leader, and he has come for the peace,” said Patrick Pareira, an Indian citizen who has lived in the UAE for 38 years. “This is a message of peace for all the world.”
Kaushala Fonseka, of Sri Lanka, said: “Miracles can happen, that’s all I can say.”
Her father Gregory nodded and said: “Any time. They can happen any time.”