POPE ADDRESSES 30,000 WORSHIPPERS IN BAHRAIN DURING AN OPEN-AIR MASS

Sat 05 November 2022:

The highlight of Pope Francis’ outreach tour to the Gulf was an open-air service attended by over 30,000 flag-waving believers on Saturday in Bahrain, a predominantly Muslim country.

At Bahrain National Stadium, the largest venue in the kingdom, the crowd, some of whom were in tears, waited to witness the 85-year-old.

Francis, who has knee issues and uses a wheelchair and a walking stick, waved to the throng while seated in an open-sided popemobile, which was surrounded by more than a dozen dressed security personnel.

The popemobile pulled gently up to a white platform with a huge yellow cross as a backdrop, and the Argentine stood to kiss children raised up to greet him while a 100-person, multilingual choir sang in many languages.

There are roughly two million Catholics in the Gulf region, mostly foreign workers from South Asia and the Philippines, and a large number of worshippers traveled there to catch a sight of the pope.

A white baseball hat, a paper Vatican flag, a bottle of water, a leaflet with information on the mass, and some cookies were distributed to each person at the stadium in a plastic bag.

The main goal of Pope Francis’ 39th worldwide trip is to forge connections with Muslim leaders. On Friday, he met with representatives of the Muslim Council of Elders as well as the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque, one of the foremost figures in Sunni Islam.

He also went to a liturgy at the largest cathedral in the Arabian Peninsula, Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, which has more than 2,000 seats. Many of the congregation’s members were migrant workers who welcomed him.

Francis will visit students at the Sacred Heart School later on Saturday.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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