Pope Francis, in his speech at a mass at the Bahrain National Stadium, called for the consolidation of the concepts of brotherhood among human beings. Nearly 30,000 people gathered at the Bahrain National Stadium, the kingdom's largest sports facility in the Riffa region, on Saturday and eagerly participated in the Mass presided by Pope Francis, on the third day of his visit to the Kingdom. Saturday's mass was the second stop for Pope Francis, after a first stop on Friday night at the Cathedral of Lady of the Arabs, the largest Catholic church in the Gulf. Bahrain, a country of 1.4 million people, established diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 2000. Around 80,000 Catholic Christians live in Bahrain and are mainly expats. Pope Francis and Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb met Friday with the Council of Muslim Scholars during their visit to Bahrain to attend the "East and West for Human Coexistence" forum. The Bahrain Dialog Forum, concluded Friday in Manama. Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa said Friday that Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar enriched the forum, stressing the role of religious leaders in addressing challenges facing societies.
