Pope’s Maiden U.A.E Visit Records Largest Christian Gathering in Arabian Peninsula
The first ever visit of the Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, to the United Arab Emirates has recorded the largest-ever public Christian religious gathering on the Arabian Peninsula.
The Catholic Church revealing this on Monday said that about 120,000 people were present at the mass which took place in a stadium in the country’s capital, Abu Dhabi.
The pope along with tens of thousands of people in the country celebrated the historic mass on Tuesday, the second day of the visit to the Gulf region.
Organisers of the record breaking event disclosed that “The crowds included Catholics from 100 nationalities and 4,000 Muslims.”
The mass was held a day after the pontiff called for religious freedom.
The largely Islamic state habitates migrants, mostly from Asia, who make up the majority of the population and the Vatican estimates the population of Catholics in the country to about 90,000.
Unlike other countries in the Gulf, like Saudi Arabia, where building of churches isn’t permitted, Christians in the UAE are free to practice their religion.
Pope Francis who spoke against violence in the guise of religion urged religious leaders to without hesitation, condemn all forms of violence.
The pope had on the opening day of the event on Monday admonished religious leaders of different faiths to put an end to war, injustice and inequality.
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