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Pope Francis celebrates historic mass in UAE: 'Take care of each other'

By Clyde Hughes
Pope Francis arrives to lead a mass at Zayed Sport City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA-EFE
Pope Francis arrives to lead a mass at Zayed Sport City Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday. Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA-EFE

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Pope Francis told worshipers at a historic mass in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday that God has not abandoned them and urged them to live in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

It was a rare message in the United Arab Emirates, a Muslim country where members of minority religions are prohibited from publicly professing their faith. Francis' visit was part of the UAE's "Year of Tolerance."

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In front of more than 100,000 at Zayed Sports City stadium -- mostly migrants who live in the country for work -- the pope called on them to live their faith.

"It is most certainly not easy for you to live far from home, missing the affection of your loved ones, and perhaps also feeling uncertainty about the future, but the Lord is faithful and does not abandon his people," the pontiff said in his homily to the crowd, which included 4,000 Muslims.

The mass was the largest public celebration of a Christian rite in the history of the UAE.

On Monday, Francis, leader of the world's Catholics, and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of Al-Azhar mosque and university, signed a historic declaration calling for peace among nations, religions and races.

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Francis is the first pontiff to visit the Arabian peninsula, which is the birthplace of Islam, during a three-day visit to Abu Dabi.

In Tuesday's mass, the pope focused on peace and justice, highlighting how the Beatitudes -- eight blessings recounted by Jesus -- relate to Christians living in the Middle East.

"If you are with Jesus, if you love to listen to his word as the disciples of that time did, if you try to live out this word every day, then you are blessed," Francis said. "A joy that gives peace also in the midst of pain."

The pope said Jesus told his followers greatness is found in giving, not receiving, and he came to Earth "to serve and not to be served."

"They do not require superhuman actions, but rather the imitation of Jesus in our everyday life," he said.

The pontiff called on everyone in the UAE "to preserve peace, unity" and "to take care of each other, with that beautiful fraternity in which there are no first- or second-class Christians."

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