Before leaving for Abu Dhabi Pope Francis tweeted, “I am about to leave for the United Arab Emirates. I am visiting that country as a brother, in order to write a page of dialogue together and to travel the paths of peace together. Pray for me!”
After a grand arrival yesterday where a young man greeted him in perfect Spanish and the Pope commended him for it, today the Pope visited the presidential palace where he was greeted with an artillery salute and airplanes that released yellow and white smoke resembling the Vatican flag.
Today he also gathered with Jewish and Muslim leaders for an inter-religious service. Tomorrow he will celebrate a Mass at a stadium with about 100,000 faithful.
To say this visit is historic is an understatement. This is the first time that the Roman Pontiff visits the Arabian Peninsula. In a country where non-Muslim religions are heavily controlled and restricted, and where conversions away from Islam are punishable by death, it is significant that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited the Pope and allowed him to celebrate Mass in public.
This visit will bring to light the plight of the over one million Catholic faithful who live in the United Arab Emirates, most doing grueling jobs, being paid little and living sometimes in subhuman conditions. Many of them are Filipino and Indian, but many other countries are represented. Of the nine million residents of the UAE, only roughly one million are native Arabs, and as already mentioned, about one million are Catholic immigrants. These Catholics are served by nine parishes, including two in Abu Dhabi.
Many years ago I learned an interesting fact about Catholic parishes in the UAE. Since Friday is the day of rest in the Muslim world, parishes hold a full schedule of Masses on Friday which serve as the weekly obligation of the Lords Day. Who said the Catholic Church does not accommodate?
Now, to answer the question posed by the title of my post.
The greatest moment of the Pope’s apostolic journey will be tomorrow when he celebrates Mass for the Catholics of the UAE in a public setting. One of the primary tasks of the successor of Peter is to encourage and affirm the faithful of Christ’s Church. Pope Francis is doing this through his presence for the million Catholics in this Muslim nation. Francis is reaching out to the margins of the Church by remembering these fellow Catholics who find themselves in a world very different from their native lands. His visit to the UAE is consistent with his previous trips where he goes out to the periphery… even though this periphery of is surrounded by the opulence of the UAE.
Picture: ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – February 4, 2019: Day two of the UAE papal visit – His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church (R), presents a gift to HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces (L), during an official reception at the Presidential Palace.
( Ryan Carter / Ministry of Presidential Affairs )
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