Pope Francis to visit Abu Dhabi in February 2019

Pope Francis to visit Abu Dhabi in February 2019

Dec 14, 2018

VATICAN: Pope Francis will travel to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Feb. 3-5 to participate in an international interfaith meeting, the Vatican announced.



“This visit, like the one to Egypt, shows the fundamental importance the Holy Father gives to inter-religious dialogue. Pope Francis visiting the Arab world is a perfect example of the culture of encounter,” papal spokesman Greg Burke said Dec 6.



The papal trip is the second visit to a Muslim country scheduled for 2019; Pope Francis will visit Morocco March 30-31.



The Abu Dhabi trip’s theme is Make Me a Channel of Your Peace, a line taken from a prayer by St Francis of Assisi, with a focus on “how all people of goodwill can work for peace,” according to the Holy See Press Office.



Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued an invitation to Pope Francis, along with the Catholic Church, in United Arab Emirates.



“We look forward to the Pope’s historic visit, aimed to maximise opportunities for dialogue and co-existence among nations,” the crown prince said, according to Al Arabiya.



Catholics in the UAE are under the territorial jurisdiction of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, which also includes the countries of Oman and Yemen. Swiss-born Bishop Paul Hinder OFM has served as Apostolic Vicar since 2005.



The Apostolic Vicariate was first established in 1888 by French Capuchin Franciscans, and was later entrusted to Italian Capuchins in 1916.



The official religion of the United Arab Emirates is Islam, with a Sunni Muslim majority. About 12.6 per cent of the total population is Christian, according to the Pew Research Centre.



“Individuals belonging to non-Islamic faiths said they could worship in private without government interference but faced restrictions on practising their religion in public,” according to the US State Department.



The United Arab Emirates is unique in that many of its residents hail from other countries. An estimated 89 per cent of the population of the UAE are not citizens of the country.



According to St Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi, there are more than two million Catholics in the Arabian Peninsula, with about 100 priests and 80 religious sisters. — By Courtney Grogan, CNA