ROME 4 February 2019: As His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, was about to embark on a historic visit to the UAE, he said that he would be visiting the country as a brother.
In a tweet, the Pontiff said, “I am about to leave for the United Arab Emirates. I am visiting that country as a brother, in order to write a page of dialogue together, and to travel paths of peace together. Pray for me!”
This visit is the first by a Head of the Catholic Church to the Arabian Peninsula, said Wam.
Mohamed bin Zayed welcomes Pope Francis
Pope Francis was received at the Abu Dhabi airport by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and His Eminence Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif.
Sheikh Mohamed welcomed the visit of Pope Francis and Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb to the UAE. Expressing his great happiness, he 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 the Vatican, he said.
Sheikh Mohamed said that the UAE has been, and will continue to be, a beacon of tolerance, moderation and coexistence. It will be a key participant in the dialogue of civilisations and cultures, he said, and will continue to oppose intolerance and extremism regardless of its origin, thus embodying the noble human values it believes in as well as the openness and moderation that has always characterised its people.
His Holiness Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, he said, are universally respected and appreciated for their great humanitarian role in promoting dialogue and understanding across the world and their continuing efforts to defend just causes. They are also respected, he added, for rejecting conflict and war and promoting coexistence between people of different religious, sectarian and ethnic affiliations.
A number of children lined up with bouquets of roses to welcome the Pope.
Year of Tolerance
He went on to say that the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif to the UAE was especially significant as it occurs in the year which President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has declared as the Year of Tolerance. It thus affirms that the UAE’s role in spreading tolerance transcends local borders, and that the country’s pioneering efforts have made it a global destination to launch civil society initiatives in support of the human fraternity.
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. Rather, he concluded, the Arab region comprises millions of people who believe in coexistence and dialogue and renounce violence and extremism and who are open up to the world and willing to engage with it.
The state guests were received by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region; Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council, FNC; H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region; H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; H.H. Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court; H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance; Sheikh Dhiab bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan; Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development; Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State, and Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Chairman of the Federal Customs Authority.
His Holiness Pope Francis was accompanied by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People; Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Substitute of the Secretariat of State; Archbishop Francisco M. Padilla Apostolic Nuncio of the United Arab Emirates; Bishop Miguel Á. Ayuso Guixot, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; Bishop Paul Hinder, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia; Msgr. Gianluca Pezzoli, Official of the Secretariat of State; Fr. Simon Peter Lukyamuzi, Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature; Fr. Michael P. O’Sullivan, Local Coordinator; Fr. Antonino Spadaro, SJ, Director of “La Civiltà Cattolica”; and Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.
The Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif was accompanied by Dr. Nasr Farid Wasel, Dr. Abdel Hadi Mohamed Abdel Hadi Zare, Dr. Mohamed El-Mahrsawy and Dr. Ata Ata Sayed Ahmed, Dr. Abdullah Sarhan, Dr. Abdel Moneim Fouad, Dr. Mustafa Abdel Ghani and Dr. Nazih Abdel Maqsoud as well as other officials.
The Pope’s Apostolic Visit, from 3rd-5th February, is taking place early in the UAE’s Year of Tolerance.deferential
Papal message for young people
During the Papal Flight to Abu Dhabi from Rome , Pope Francis presented to members of the accompanying media copies of an icon made at the Monastery of Bose in Italy, carrying a message for young people.
It was distributed by the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini, “It’s on the theme of dialogue between the old and the young,” the Pope told the journalists. “I care deeply about this topic, and I think it’s a challenge”.
On the back is inscribed an extract from remarks in October 2018 by the Pope when he was asked “what would you say to young people who want to have confidence in life, who wish to build for themselves a future to the height of their dreams?”
The extract reads: “This icon bears a young monk, carrying the elderly one on his shoulders. He carries forward the dreams of the elderly man… A youth who is capable of carrying the dreams of the elderly man, and take them forward and allow them to flourish.”
Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif arrives in UAE
Earlier, His Eminence Dr Ahmad Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, arrived in the UAE on a three-day visit.
He was received at the Presidential Flight by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif in his second country. He also expressed his wishes for a fruitful meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis Head of Catholic Church and stressed the meeting of the two key religious icons in Abu Dhabi is a message of coexistance and peace among peoples to build a future based on mutual respect and cooperation to safeguard a shining future for the coming generation.
The Grand Imam of Al Azhar was received by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region; Dr. Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council, FNC; H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region; H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; H.H. Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; H.H. Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court; H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance; Sheikh Dhiab bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan; Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development; Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State, and Ali Saeed Matar Al Neyadi, Chairman of the Federal Customs Authority.
During his visit, His Eminence will be participating in the overall Human Fraternity Meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church and also taking part in the International Conference for Human Fraternity that is attracting 700 multi-faith representatives from around the world.
Both religious leaders accepted the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to attend the UAE’s Human Fraternity Meeting.
They will also visit together the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Pontiff will also meet with the Muslim Council of Elders that has His Eminence the Grand Imam as Chairman.
The Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif was accompanied by Dr. Nasr Farid Wasel, Dr. Abdel Hadi Mohamed Abdel Hadi Zare, Dr. Mohamed El-Mahrsawy and Dr. Ata Ata Sayed Ahmed, Dr. Abdullah Sarhan, Dr. Abdel Moneim Fouad, Dr. Mustafa Abdel Ghani and Dr. Nazih Abdel Maqsoud as well as other officials.
