On June 5, 2018 Pope Francis received Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the U.A.E., who was on an official visit to the State of Vatican City, during which he handed over a message from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, inviting Pope Francis to visit the UAE.and was invited to pay a visit to the United Arab Emirates
Dates for this visit are February 3-5, 2019.
The U.A.E., a federal union made up of seven states, has about 10% Catholic population (mostly foreign workers), established full diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 2007.
There are several major Catholic churches in the U.A.E.
Source:Â IPS News
