Hundreds of students, teachers who attended Meeting the Youth event led by His Holiness Pope Francis at the Sacred Heart School applauded His Majesty the King’s great gesture of inviting Pope Francis to Bahrain.
“I want to thank the leadership and the Government for providing a great favour to the Christian community living in Bahrain by hosting the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis,” said Meeting the Youth activity Coordinator at the School, Jaqueline Vaz.
“There have been concerted efforts exerted by all organsiations for making the historic visit of His Holiness to the Kingdom of Bahrain a memorable that one could witness from the quality of this event,” she added.
“We are all thankful to HM the King, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and government organizations for inviting Pope Francis to Bahrain.”
His Holiness Pope’s presence in Bahrain and a kind gesture by mingling up with the community members during the various events has made it possible for thousands of believers that otherwise would have not been possible even for those who visit the Vatican, she added.
“Here we were all able to see him, listen to his messages, have the Holy Mass in the Bahrain National Stadium and have this great opportunity to invite him to our school to interact with youth, witness cultural presentations and remain in the school for many hours,” she said.
“Truly, Bahrain is a land of peace where people of all faiths living here enjoy religious freedom. I have not seen any other country giving so much religious freedom like what we enjoy in Bahrain. It is such a peaceful country. And I am sure we will continue living in peaceful coexistence.”
She said that the visit of Pope Francis with Sheikh of Al Azhar and top religious leaders is significant as to have religious dialogue that is particularly important at this time.
“This message of peace and coexistence of HM the King and Pope Francis is of great significance to all the youth not only for the residents of Bahrain rather around the world.”
At the Meeting, the Youth event, the school gathered children of different nationalities and faiths.
“We have approximately 643 students from different schools in Bahrain. We have students from the government schools, St. Christopher’s, Pakistan School, New Indian School, and others,” she said.
“We brought together both private and public schools’ students. Among these are also children from the Catechism group of the church. So, we have Youth incorporated in one group.”
Expressing her personal happiness, Vaz said that it was a dream come true.
“We are extremely excited to have hosted this event in our school and to meet and greet His Holiness Pope Francis. We have a small school, yet are truly fortunate and humbled that Pope Francis came here, which is a great honour for each one of us.”
Source: Bahrain News Agency