By Hannah Brockhaus
Pope Francis landed in the Kingdom of Bahrain on Thursday, placing the first pope in the Muslim island country in the Persian Gulf.
On the flight from Rome Nov. 3, the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane that it is “an attractive adventure [that] will make us think about sharing intelligent news. “
Francis, who circles around the plane to greet members of the media, said he was in a lot of pain and asked reporters to tell him where he was sitting.
Pope Francis will visit Bahrain from November 3 to 6. Located east of Saudi Arabia and west of Qatar, the country has a population of 1. 5 million, according to an estimate for 2022 through the CIA’s World Factbook.
There are about 161,000 Catholics in Bahrain, many of whom are immigrants from Asia, the Philippines and India, according to 2020 Vatican statistics. There are two Catholic churches and 20 Catholic priests.
The theme of the is “Peace on earth for men of good will,” encouraged through Luke 2:14, and will come with meetings with Muslim leaders and the small Christian community.
It is more than 70% Muslim, and most belong to the Shiite branch of Islam, the country’s state religion.
Speaking to reporters aboard the flight Nov. 3, Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, said he hoped the papal stopover would help the situation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Bahrain.
While Shia Muslims make up the majority of the population, Bahrain’s royal circle of relatives belongs to the Sunni branch of Islam, leading to widespread sectarian tensions in the country. Human rights teams have also accused the government of committing abuses against the Shia majority and migrant workers, and of unjust imprisonment.
Cardinal Ayuso said Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa is the user in the country with the force to release Shiite political prisoners. After landing in the country, Pope Francis’ first appointment will be an assembly of users with the king.
The pope will also face members of government and civil society on Nov. 3.
On the same day of the visit, the Pope will deliver the final address of the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.
Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, will also travel to Bahrain to participate in the forum with Pope Francis. The devout leaders last met in September at an interfaith summit in Kazakhstan.
Francis will meet privately with el-Tayeb addressing members of the Muslim Council of Elders at the Sakhir Royal Palace mosque.
The day will conclude with an ecumenical assembly and prayer for peace at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, consecrated on December 10, 2021. The arch-shaped Catholic cathedral seats another 2300 people and is built as part of a 95,000 square foot complex. .
On Nov. 5, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at Bahrain’s National Stadium and meet with young people. His last morning, Nov. 6, will consist of a prayer assembly and an Angelus with local Catholics at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Manama.
Before leaving Rome on the afternoon of November 2, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to pray for the good fortune of the adventure through the intercession of Our Lady Salus Populi Romani.
It is Francis’ 100th scale in the historic Roman icon.
Alexey Gotovskiy contributed to this report.