Pope Francis arrives in UAE on three-day visit

ABU DHABI: Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis reached Abu Dhabi on Sunday night to begin a historic three-day visit in what was the first by a leader of the Roman Catholic Church to the Arabian Peninsula, the UAE newspaper The National reported.

He was received at the airport by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb, according to the UAE official news agency WAM.

The visit marks a new beginning in relations between the UAE and the Vatican as Pope Francis became the first Pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula. Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb arrived in the UAE on Sunday morning and was also received by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. According to the WAM, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed the visit of Pope Francis and Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb to the UAE.

Expressing his great happiness, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi said that the visit is especially important in promoting the values of fraternity, peace and peaceful coexistence. The visit is also significant because it reinforces ties of friendship and cooperation between the UAE and Vatican, he said.

Sheikh Mohamed said that this historic visit to the UAE sends a message to the whole world that the Arab region, the centre of the three monotheistic faiths, whose people have lived in harmony and peace for centuries, is unlike the often invoked image of extremism and terrorism.

Over three days, the Pope will celebrate interfaith relations and host a public mass for Catholics living in the Arabian Peninsula, approximately one million of which live in the UAE. On Monday, the first full day of his landmark trip, Pope Francis will meet with Sheikh Mohamed, at the Presidential Palace before holding interfaith meetings, including a private gathering with the Muslim Council of Elders at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. He will then head to the mosque’s courtyard to visit the tomb of the late founding father of the UAE, according to the UAE media.

On Tuesday, he will take part in a private visit to St Joseph’s Cathedral before hosting a public outdoor mass at Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, which is expected to draw a crowd of 120,000.

The roads will be closed around Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Sports City on Tuesday ahead of Pope Francis’ public Mass, the Department of Transport said in the media release. While schools across the UAE will also be closed on Tuesday, the Ministry of Education announced.

In the meanwhile, Global Conference of Human Fraternity was opened by UAE Minister of Tolerance Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. More than 700 leaders, thinkers and representatives of different faiths gathered to discuss the critical importance of fraternity and peaceful coexistence.

The two-day conference is being held under the patronage of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and organised by an Abu Dhabi-based independent international organization -- the Muslim Council of Elders.

The conference takes place in conjunction with the historic visit of head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayyeb, to the United Arab Emirates.

Addressing the gathering, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan said, "We are delighted to welcome Pope Francis and The Grand Imam to the UAE." The visit represents a call for global fraternal collaboration based on peaceful dialogue, mutual tolerance, and a rejection of extremism and violence, he added. He also said that the conference provides a rare opportunity to unleash the power of wisdom and reason and learn from the ideas shared by the eminent personalities during the conference.

The Global Conference of Human Fraternity focuses on a wide spectrum of themes, including ‘Principles of Human Fraternity’, ‘Common Responsibility to Achieve Human Fraternity’ as well as ‘Human Fraternity: Challenges and Opportunities’. The conference organiser, the Muslim Council of Elders hoped the gathering would also become a global landmark event in global relations between different communities and faiths.