APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS to the KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, Honourable Members of the Government and the Diplomatic Corps, Distinguished Religious and Civil Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen, As-salamu alaikum!
I express my deep gratitude to His Majesty for his invitation to visit the Kingdom of Bahrain, his warm and gracious welcome and his kind words. I greet you all most cordially. I would like to address a word of friendship and affection to everyone living in this country: to each believer and individual and to ...

Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, Dear Brother, Dr Al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dear Brother Bartholomew, Ecumenical Patriarch, Distinguished Religious and Civil Authorities, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I greet you all most cordially and I am grateful for your welcome to this Forum of dialogue organized under the patronage of His Majesty the King of Bahrain. This country takes its name from its waters: the name Bahrain means “two seas”. It make us think of the waters of the sea, which bring ...

Dear Brother, Dr Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dear Members of the Muslim Council of Elders, Dear Friends, As-salamu alaikum!
I offer you cordial greetings and I express my prayerful hope that the peace of the Most High may descend upon each of you: upon you, who desire to foster reconciliation in order to avoid divisions and conflicts in Muslim communities; upon you, who see in extremism a danger that corrodes genuine religion; upon you, who are committed to dispelling erroneous ...

Your Royal Highness, Dear Mr Minister of Justice, We feel grateful and honoured by your presence.
“We are Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabians, and we hear them telling in their own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts 2:9-11).
Your Holiness, dear brother Bartholomew, dear ...

The prophet Isaiah says about the Messiah whom God will raise up, “His power shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace” (Is 9:6). This sounds like a contradiction in terms: on the world scene, we often notice that the more power is sought, the more peace is threatened. Instead, the prophet announces extraordinary news: the Messiah to come will indeed be powerful, not in the manner of a commander who wages war and rules over others, but as the “Prince of Peace” (v. 5), who ...

Dear friends, brothers and sisters, good evening!
Thank you for being here, from so many different countries and with such great enthusiasm! I would like to thank Sister Rosalyn for her words of welcome and for the commitment with which, together with many others, she oversees the administration of Sacred Heart School.
I am happy to have seen in the Kingdom of Bahrain a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and beliefs. As I look out at you, who are not all of the same ...

Dear Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Men and Women, Seminarians and Pastoral Workers, good morning!
I am pleased to be here, in the midst of this Christian community that clearly manifests its “Catholic” face: a universal face, a Church made up of people from various parts of the world who come together to profess our one faith in Christ. Yesterday, Bishop Hinder – whom I thank for his service and his words of introduction – talked about “a small flock made up of migrants”.  In greeting you, ...