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Pope Francis' Visit to the UAE

On February 3, 2019, Pope Francis landed in the Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport at 9.47 p.m. local time where he was greeted by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and then Dr. Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar University, which serves as the lead source for Sunni Islam education, and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders. This visit also makes him the first Pope to visit an area in the Arabian Peninsula. On February 4, the Pope attended the Interfaith Meeting, during which he and His Eminence Ahmed el-Tayeb signed “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together." On February 5, Pope Francis concluded his trip after giving a mass in front of a large crowd, estimated at 180,000, at Zayed Sports City.