Pax Vobis

The ITA plane was peacefully flying in the skies of Europe, over the Mediterranean and slightly edging over Asia and Africa. But  when it entered the Jordanian airspace from the south, four planes belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force flew to cordially accompany a grand friend hovering over the Holy Land, namely Pope Francis who was heading at the time from Italy to Bahrain on a  four-day visit.

On the same day, the Royal Hashemite Court stated that His Majesty King Abdullah II had sent an audio message addressed to His Holiness the Pope which he began by saying in Latin, Pax Vobis, meaning “Peace be upon you,” being the greeting that the Pope greets his people during Holy Masses and prayers. When His Majesty the King greets His Holiness the Pope in the original Latin language, this indicates the great appreciation that the King and his loyal people hold to His Holiness the Pope and to all the friends of Jordan. The short message has great indications including support for religious tourism to our dear country, as the King referred to his homeland, over which the Pope hovers, as the Holy Land to emphasize the significance of this land, and the efforts conducted in promoting religious tourism that makes visitors to Jordan pilgrims to a land sanctified by our forefathers with their pure blood as well as with the baptism of Lord Jesus Christ in our holy waters, knowing that the Pope himself visited us at a time when we flew with him at that time from the lowest point on Earth to the highest manifestations of the spirit

Only a few hours after the Jordanian Pax Vobis, Pope Francis was standing before his honorable host King Hamad Ibn Isa Al Khalifa to say in his first words, in Arabic, in the country of the host sisterly kingdom: "Peace be upon you" while undertaking a four-day trip, which came under the slogan “Blessed are those who seek peace.” The speeches and prayers included a call for peace and for silencing the voice of wars, especially with regards to the current Russian-Ukraine conflict.

What did the invitation indicate?

The first part of the visit to the renowned Kingdom of Bahrain began with Bahrain Dialogue Forum "East and West for Human Coexistence" which included the participation of King Hamad Ibn Isa Al Khalifa, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmad Al-Tayib, and Pope Francis as they unanimously called for ending wars which bring despair, death, and displacement. They also called for deepening interfaith dialogue in the presence of senior members of the Muslim Council Elders and a Vatican delegation.

The second part of the visit included prayer meetings with the lively and vital Christian groups in the Kingdom of Bahrain which are groups made up of several churches, nationalities, ethnicities, nationalities and races. As for Christian Bahrainis who hold Bahraini citizenship, they do not exceed 1,000 people. The sisterly kingdom has successfully mastered the preparation, celebration, and organization of this international conference and all its functionaries that included the visit of the messenger of love and peace to the second Gulf country, after the UAE, and to seventh Arab country. Pope Francis' visits began with a visit in 2014 to Jordan and Palestine, after which he visited Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Iraq, and finally to Bahrain. I had the honor  during my visit on behalf of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem  to greet His Majesty King Hamad, who firmly shook my hand when he knew that I was from Jordan, saying: “Jordan, O how great.” As for His Holiness the Pope, I conveyed to him the greetings of the Latin Patriarchate and the Jordanians. As for the grand imam of Al-Azhar, I said to him: "I hope the calls for moderation would find attentive ears."

 Peace to the Kingdom of Bahrain, which has made peace and love in these days on tip of every tongue.

Peace be upon you Pax Vobis