Francisco arrived in the Arabian Peninsula, during the first visit of a Pope in history – 03/02/2019

The pope arrived Sunday in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, to make a historic visit of brotherhood with Muslims. the first of a pontiff to the Arabian Peninsula, the cradle of Islam.

In Dubhai, he will celebrate Tuesday the first outdoor Catholic Mbad in an Islamic country. In the UAE, freedom of worship exists and the one million Catholics who occupy it (10%) exercise their religion in several parishes and in the Cathedral of San José, unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia which limits worship to Islam

The message of peace of the pontiff is present in the dramatic context of the war in neighboring Yemen, with the Emirates as the main allies of the Saudis in the episodes of war that caused several thousand deaths. Since 2015, the Yemeni government has received support from the Persian Gulf monarchies against Houthi Shiite rebels, backed by Iran, which controls vast areas of Yemen, including the capital Sana'a.

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The situation of civilians suffering from famine and victims of military clashes is disastrous. This Sunday, Pope Francis asked Rome "to urgently support the fulfillment of the agreements reached" with a view to a truce in the port city of Hodeida, which is urgent to promote the access of humanitarian aid to the Yemeni population.

Francisco was received by the heir Prince Mohame bin Zayed alNahyan and Sheikh Ahmad-al-Tayyib, the grand imam of Al Azhar University in Cairo, the largest religious and cultural center of Sunni Muslims, representing 90% of the 1,600 million Muslims. It is the fifth time that the Pope of Rome and the Imam meet at Al Zahar University in Cairo. On three occasions, Francisco received his "dear friend" at the Vatican and the fourth meeting took place during the visit of the Argentine pope to Al Zahar during his trip to Cairo in 2017.

The pope moved after the meetings to Al Mushrif Palace, the residence reserved by the state to illustrious guests, where he will spend two nights.

The activity of the pope will begin this Monday, a day devoted to meetings with the authorities and Islamic personalities, On Tuesday, Francisco will meet the Catholic community and celebrate the first outdoor Mbad in a Muslim country composed of a Catholic pope. Tuesday afternoon, he will return to Rome.

On Monday, the pope will meet Crown Prince Muhammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The meeting will be private, Jorge Bergoglio will sign the Palace Honor Book and will exchange gifts with Prince Zayed Al Nahyan.

In the afternoon, a private meeting will be held at 17 hours. This will be the most important moment of the visit devoted to the international interreligious meeting on human fraternity. Its interlocutors will be members of the Muslim Council of Alumni of the Great Mosque Sheikh Zayed, also called Council of Muslim Scholars, chaired by Al Azhar's imam, Chief Al Zayed. The Institute was established in 2014 and aims to promote peace and interreligious dialogue.

During the interreligious meeting, the pope will address the Muslim sages during which Jorge Bergoglio will highlight the importance of peaceful coexistence, dialogue and the common path of the major religious denominations for peace and against all the violence.

The interreligious meeting will take place at the Founders Memorial, which commemorates the life and heritage of Sheikh Zayed, founder of the United Arab Emirates.

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On Tuesday, the pope will dedicate his apostolic visit to the Catholic community of Abu Dhabi, which has a million faithful for the large number of immigrant workers and residents of Europe, North America and Latin America. It will also be the moment to celebrate the religious freedom that exists in the Islamic country. Precisely, the authorities declared "Year of Tolerance" until 2019.

Francisco will make a private visit to San José Cathedral in the morning and will later preside a mbad on the ground, the first to take place outside in a Muslim country, in the sports city stadium of Zayed.

The stadium has a capacity of 45,000 people but 135,000 faithful have reserved their tickets, many of which will have to follow the religious ceremony and homily of the pope on large TV screens installed outside.

After Mbad, the Argentine pope will say goodbye to the airport authorities and will board the plane that will bring him back to Rome.