A day after making a broad appeal for Christian and Muslim leaders to work together to promote peace and reject war, Francis celebrated what some considered the largest show of public Christian worship on the peninsula, the birthplace of Islam.
Cheers erupted inside and outside the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi as Francis arrived and moved through the crowd in his open-sided Popemobile, as chants of “Viva il papa” (Long live the pope) and “We love you!” echoed from the crowd, estimated to be around 135,000.
Organisers said faithful from 100 countries would attend, as well as 4,000 Muslims from this Muslim federation – evidence of the enormous diversity among the 9 million people who live in the UAE.
“We have to say it is really a big event for us which we never expected,” said Sumitha Pinto, an Indian native who has lived in the UAE for nearly 20 years. She attended the Mass with her husband and four sons, the youngest of whom held up sign with the pope’s photo that read: “Welcome Pope Francis. Make Me a Channel of Your Peace.”
The Emirates’ Catholic community is something of an anomaly for the region – large, diverse and thriving at a time when the wider Middle East has seen an exodus of Christians fleeing persecution at the hands of the Islamic State group and others.
The Catholic Church estimates as many as one million of the over nine million people…
… Read More
—
Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.