His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, brought the curtain down on his historic visit to the UAE by delivering a Papal Mass to 180,000 Catholic faithful in the country, February 5. Arriving on his Popemobile, His Holiness waved at the sea of crowd, who expressed their joy and excitement as the Pontiff entered Zayed Sports City Stadium, where he conducted the 90-minute holy mass.
As earlier reported by The Filipino Times, thousands of Filipino community members in the UAE participated in the mass and the organizing committee estimated that the number of attendees exceeded the 135,000-mark.
In his Homily, the Holy See conveyed his thanks to the UAE’s leadership and people saying, “I would like to thank the children of Zayed in the land of Zayed,” which received a thunder of applause from the attendees.
The concerted efforts of the UAE authorities paid off with the success of the event. The Filipino community lauded the UAE Government for deploying 1500 paramedics and members of the police force to ensure the safety and security of the attendees. The 2000 buses arranged by the government also helped the faithful from all across the Emirates to reach the place on time and safe.
The Papal Mass was televised across the globe thanks to more than 250 international journalists who took part in the momentous occasion.
