Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa chaired the annual meeting of the Latin bishops in the Arab countries, which opened on Monday, October 18, in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. The meeting is hosted by the Apostolic Vicariate in Southern Arabia.

The meeting includes the Latin bishops of Abu Dhabi, Egypt, and Djibouti as well as Latin patriarchal vicars of Jerusalem, Amman, Nazareth, Cyprus, and the Hebrew-speaking Catholic community. It also includes the apostolic nuncios in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, the chargé d'affaires of the apostolic nunciature in Abu Dhabi. In attendance, as well, is the archbishop of Tunisia representing the North African Bishops' Council. The bishops of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq were not able to attend.

The delegation visited Abu Dhabi before the start of the sessions during which the bishops discussed the conditions of their Churches in their respective counters. A press report on the conference will be issued at the end of the sessions.  Furthermore, the bishops will pray for the Christians in these countries and for the success of the conference sessions.