Pope Francis will arrive in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later on Sunday, becoming the first pontiff to visit the Arabian peninsula.
The Pope has been invited by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to take part in an interfaith conference. The landmark trip will also feature a Mass on Tuesday that is expected to draw 120,000 people.
The visit will be carefully watched for any references to the war in Yemen. Pope Francis has condemned the conflict, in which the UAE is involved as part of a Saudi-led coalition.
Last year, the pontiff appealed to the international community “to avoid a worsening of the already tragic humanitarian situation” in Yemen. The UAE is also home to nearly one million Roman Catholics, most of them from the Philippines or India.
In a video message on Thursday, the Pope said: “I am happy for this occasion the Lord has given me to write, on your dear land, a new page in the history of relations between religions. Faith in God unites and does not divide, it draws us closer despite differences, it distances us from hostilities and aversion.”
He paid tribute to the UAE as “a land that is trying to be a model of coexistence, of human brotherhood, and a meeting place among diverse civilisations and cultures”.