Pope Francis concluded on Tuesday a historic three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates by holding an unprecedented public celebration of Mass that brought together more than 180,000 people at the Zayed Sports City stadium and its surroundings in Abu Dhabi.
The event saw 1,500 paramedics, police and security staff on duty to ensure the safety and security of the Catholics attending the Mass.
There were 100 Emiratis on duty managing gate security for the thousands who flocked to the event – the majority of whom traveled on the 2,000 buses organized by the UAE Government in association with the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA), the territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church covering the UAE, Oman and Yemen.
It captured world media attention with 250 international journalists among the 600 media who covered the Papal Mass and broadcast the event live around the world.
His Holiness arrived on his Popemobile to greet the excited crowds both inside and outside the Zayed Stadium where he conducted the 90-minute Mass.
Guests included the UAE Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and Noura Al Kaabi, Minister for Culture and Knowledge Development among other senior government officials.
During his homily on a specially constructed stage within the stadium, Pope Francis thanked the UAE’s leadership and people, saying: “I would like to thank the children of Zayed in the land of Zayed” which received a rapturous welcome from the diverse multinational audience.
Reflecting what was one of the most diverse gathering of nationalities for a Papal Mass outside of Rome – elements of the 90-minute service were conducted in Italian, English, Arabic, Tagalog, Hindi and Korean.
The Mass came a day after the pope joined hands with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, to produce a joint appeal for Christian and Muslim leaders to work together to promote peace and reject war.
The Pope was seen off at Abu Dhabi airport by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who expressed his appreciation for the pontiff’s visit and his message of tolerance.
