A mosaic of races and cultures

He came to bring “the affection and closeness of the universal Church, which looks at and embraces, loves and encourages” the small but dynamic Catholic community of Bahrain, and to thank it for its “mild and joyful testimony of fraternity”, which it spreads in “this land seeds of love and peace”. Pope Francis confided this during the mass on Saturday 5 November, on the third and penultimate day of the trip to the island state of the Gulf. A morning, even today, sunny and windy, in which the Pontiff’s first real crowd bath since he has been here.

Thirty thousand faithful
of 111 nationalities

Stage of what was one of the most attended Eucharistic celebrations in the history of the region, the National Stadium of Riffa, the second Bahraini city, where the royal family Al Khalifa resides, south of the capital Manama. Arriving there by car from Awali, the bishop of Rome found thirty thousand faithful to welcome him – representing 111 nationalities – who filled the sports facility in every order of place: from the tiers to the lawn.

Immediately on board the uncovered popemobile, Francesco made a long tour among those present who shouted “We love you PapaAs he passed, while the choir sang Jesus Christ you are my life, song of the Jubilee of 2000. Many smiles and a few tears of emotion on the faces that reflected the mosaic of races and cultures of the Christian community of the Middle East and in particular of the Catholic community of Bahrain: those of ancient Eastern tradition and those who, as migrants , temporarily reside in this part of the world. They were joined by the sisters and brothers in the faith from the other three countries of the apostolic vicariate of Northern Arabia – Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – as well as those who arrived from near and far territories. Above all young people and families with children, each of whom received from the organizers a bag containing a flag with the Vatican colors, a white baseball cap with the travel logo and a bottle of drinking water to quench their thirst in the heat of these latitudes. Some took selfies, others asked for a blessing, still others raised their youngest children for a caress.

Wearing the vestments, on the stage dominated by a large yellow arch and with an imposing golden cross in the center, the bishop of Rome then presided over the mass “for peace and justice” in English. Numerous cardinals, prelates and priests of the region and the ecclesiastics of the papal entourage concelebrated, including Bishop Hinder, local ordinary, Cardinal Parolin, Nuncio Nugent. Next to the altar, a statue of the Virgin Mary to underline the Marian devotion of these people. On the sides, two huge giant screens allowed everyone present to follow the progress better: Arabs and Asians above all, but also Africans, representing every component of Catholicism here in Bahrain: a community of 160,000 faithful, 80,000 according to other estimates, which make up about 10 per cent of the total population. They are not only of the Latin rite, but also of different oriental traditions, and their pastoral care is ensured by about twenty priests (thirteen diocesan and seven religious), assisted by about ninety catechists active in the two parishes of the country, and by some nuns, whose number does not reach ten.

They are mostly precarious workers involved in the recent migratory flows that have brought them here from the Indian subcontinent and the Far East in search of temporary jobs. Workers employed in mining and construction plants that in the Gulf seem not to know any crisis, and domestic workers at the service of wealthy families. Considered peaceful because they respect the laws, they enjoy the trust of the Islamic majority who holds all the political, judicial and economic levers.

A historic celebration
for the country

Small multi-ethnic flock, therefore, but which today has shown all its cohesion in differences and its love for the Church in animating this historic celebration with the first Pope who came to Bahrain, where an indigenous Arab-Christian population also lives. It is a rarity for the region, a thousand people attracted from other Middle Eastern nations in the middle of the last century due to the oil boom and today full-fledged citizens.

Also for this reason the first reading was proclaimed in Arabic (Isaiah 9, 1-6), while the English that unites all was chosen for the Gospel (Matteo 5, 38-48). Instead the homily was delivered by the Pontiff in Spanish, unlike the other speeches of this trip which were and will be in Italian.

The cosmopolitan character
of Catholicism

Even the prayers of the faithful underlined the cosmopolitan character of Bahraini Catholicism: the intentions were in fact raised in Konkani and Malayalam (which are spoken in India), in Tagalog (language of the Philippines), in Swahili (African language) and in Tamil ( Sri Lankan). In particular, the thought went to those who suffer from war, hunger and poverty, so that they are not abandoned.

At the end, Bishop Hinder addressed a greeting address to the Pope, who, as usual, offered him a chalice as a gift. Also in the previous trip of Francis to the United Arab Emirates it was the Capuchin prelate, then apostolic vicar of South Arabia, who welcomed the bishop of Rome.

Finally the Pontiff gave the blessing; and as the stadium was emptying, he drove back to Awali’s residence. In the afternoon a meeting with young people awaits him and tomorrow the final one of the trip here in Bahrain with the bishops, priests, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers in the Sacred Heart church in Manama.

from our correspondent
Gianluca Biccini