By Hannah Brockhaus
In the first papal visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Pope Francis will close a forum on dialogue, meet with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar and pray in a new Catholic cathedral.
The Vatican has released the full itinerary of the pope’s Nov. 3-6 trip to the Muslim island country in the Persian Gulf.
The theme of the scale is “Peace on earth to men of good will,” encouraged by Luke 2:14. The logo is a stylized symbol of two hands open to God: one with the colors of the Vatican flag and one with the flag of Bahrain. An olive branch constitutes peace, while the text “Pope Francis” is blue to constitute acceptance as true of the scale in the Virgin Mary.
Pope Francis will land in Awali, a small municipality about 20 km south of Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Thursday, November 3. After a personal meeting with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, François will confront members of the government and civilians. society.
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 mosque of the Royal Palace in Sakhir.
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.
Bahrain, east of Saudi Arabia and west of Qatar, has a population of 1. 7 million. The population is 70% Muslim, most belonging to the Shiite branch of Islam, the country’s state religion.
Christians, about 210,000, make up 14 percent of the total population, followed by Hindus with 10 percent.
There are about 80,000 Catholics in Bahrain, many of whom are immigrants from Asia, the Philippines and India.