UAE BARQ برق الإمارات – نبضك
Pope Francis greets crowds as young girl rushes to hand him letter at Sheikh Zayed Stadium
Pope Francis arrived at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in a an automobile, greeting exuberant crowds.
The atmosphere was filled with cheer and good spirit.
A little girl jumped from barriers and ran towards the automobile, which Pope Francis stopped, so that the young child can deliver what appeared to be a letter or drawing to the Head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis will deliver his Homily shortly, on a stage that has been decorated with simple white backdrop, a large golden Crucifix at the centre of the stage, and a statue of the Virgin Mary. This modest setting is a rare occurrence for Holy Mass, which usually contains a large number of religious symbols at the Altar.
Introductory Rites began as part of the Holy Mass Order, with worshipers partaking in prayer and hymns, along with readings from the Gospel by Church clergy.
Holy Father, thank you for historic moment: Bishop Hinder’s words to Pope before final blessing
Following the Holy Mass held at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium this morning by His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, the Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, Bishop Paul Hinder, delivered a word of thanks to the Pontiff before his final blessing, saying, “I thank your Holiness for your visit. It shows your pastoral care for this Church composed by migrants coming from around the whole world.”
Bishop Paul Hinder, who also heads Abu Dhabi’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral, added, “800 years ago, Saint Francis of Assisi met with Sultan Malik Al Kamil in Egypt. It was a meeting of mutual respect. In a similar way you have come to a Muslim country with the intention to do as Saint Francis did in the year 1219. We Christians try to implement the order Saint Francis gave at his time to his brothers and to ‘live spiritually among the Muslims… not to engage in arguments and (simply) to acknowledge that (we) are Christians’.”
The Vicar went on to thank the UAE authorities, especially His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, “who generously have made possible this visit and given us this space in order to have a public Mass with as many faithful as possible.”
He continued by thanking all the people from the church and all those living in the UAE who have worked hard to make this celebration possible.
“Finally, I wish to thank all those who have come to celebrate with us – Patriarchs, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Religious, Women and Men from near and far – not to forget those who followed us throughout the world on the screen,” he said.
“Holy Father, as we are coming to the end of a historic moment, I am asking you to give us your apostolic blessing. We wish you and your entourage a safe trip back to Rome,” he concluded.
Thousands of Filipino Catholics attend Papal Mass in Abu Dhabi
Thousands of Catholic faithful, including Filipino workers from across all the emirates, came together to witness the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, during a celebration of a Papal Mass at Zayed Sports City Stadium today.
The Filipino Times newspaper reported that the Mass saw a 120-member choir, composed mostly of Filipinos, with Filipina conductress Joy Santos spearheading the multi-cultural voices who sang hymns in English, Arabic, and Latin.
Over one million Catholics reside across the UAE and 170,000 people had the rare opportunity to attend one of the few Papal Masses to take place outside Vatican City, but also the first-ever in the history of the region.
“Many Filipinos had camped out the night before at hotels and locations near access hubs. Ecstatic and filled with eagerness to meet the Pope, they made sure they got to the venue early, as the first batch of buses left as early as 10:00 p.m. Monday night to head towards the venue,” the UAE’s largest Filipino newspaper and biggest digital platform for Filipinos in the region stated.
The visit of the Pontiff is a positive response to the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, together with His Eminence Dr. Ahmad el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, who welcomed the Pope as he arrived from the Vatican.
The Pope is expected to leave the UAE around 1:00 p.m. following a farewell ceremony at the Abu Dhabi Presidential Flight.
‘This celebration was a source of great joy to me’: Holy Father tells crowds at end of Mass
His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, today delivered a Holy Mass in front of 170,000 worshippers who gathered inside and outside of the Sheikh Zayed Stadium to participate in a historic moment for locals, residents and the visitors of Abu Dhabi.
Delivering a greeting at the end of the Mass, Pope Francis said, “Before concluding this celebration, which has been a source of great joy to me, I wish to extend my affectionate greeting to all of you who have participated; the Chaldean, Coptic, Greek-Catholic, Greek-Melchite, Latin, Maronite, Syro-Catholic, Syro-Malabar and the Syro-Malankar faithful.”
“I sincerely thank Bishop Hinder (Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia) for the preparations of this visit and for all his pastoral work. A warm thanks also to the Patriarchs, Major Archbishops and all the other Bishops present, to the priests, consecrated persons and to so many lay faithful who are deeply committed, with generosity and a spirit of service, to their communities and to the poorest.”
“May Our Most Blessed Mother Mary sustain you in your love of the Church and in your joyful witness to the Gospel. Please, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you!,” the Pontiff said in conclusion.
