Be "pilgrims of hope" in a "migrant, always on the move" reality. This is the warning launched by Msgr. Paolo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of southern Arabia (United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen), on the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope which for the Catholic community becomes an opportunity to reflect on the peculiar characteristics of the local Church: its being composed of the vast majority of economic migrants who, despite the difficulties and problems, must not lose sight of the mission of being witnesses of hope. 

Coinciding with the beginning of the Year of Hope proclaimed by Pope Francis for 2025, the vicar published a pastoral letter outlining the “characteristics” of the Church of the Gulf, a reality of “migrants on the move,” contextualized to the Jubilee event, “a source of grace and reconciliation.” The inauguration ceremony took place on December 28 in Abu Dhabi and was a moment of celebration for the entire vicariate of Southern Arabia.

The letter, sent for information to AsiaNews, emphasizes that Christian hope, founded on the love of God rather than mere optimism, remains and resists even in times of difficulty. It is also particularly important for migrant believers who must face further challenges and critical issues, including separation from their families of origin, adaptation to a new reality and the precariousness (and fragility) of their lives, while waiting to return to their country of origin.

Monsignor Paolo urges us to consider the condition of migrants, a peculiar characteristic of the vicarial territory, as part of "our spiritual journey" towards the Kingdom of Heaven, placing "our hope only in Christ". "If we fix our hope on things that pass away, we expose ourselves to disappointment because everything changes. But if we recognize - continues the prelate - that Christ is our hope, we will also be able to live difficult situations with patience and tenacity, knowing that the Lord always brings to completion the good that he has begun in us".

On this journey, the Vicar of Arabia encourages Gulf Catholics "to support one another and walk together in faith and unity, as expressed in the Nicene Creed as we celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in this Jubilee Year." At the end of the letter, Msgr. Martinelli calls on the faithful to make "a pilgrimage to one of the sanctuary churches to experience the mercy of God, and to participate in the meetings that will be held in the parishes to deepen the contents of our faith."

“Christian joy,” recalls Msgr. Martinelli, “is based on faith and hope, rooted in love. The Lord is near, St. Paul tells us. This is the foundation of Christian joy. It is a joy that is possible even in times of difficulty, because it is rooted in the closeness of God. It is precisely this closeness of God that we will celebrate in the Jubilee of 2025. We will remember once again that the Word of God became flesh and took up residence among us forever (Jn 1:14). He did not come only in the past. He comes among us every day. Let us therefore move from the joy of the Jubilee of St. Aretas and his martyr companions,” says the prelate, recalling the year that has just ended, “to the greater joy of the Jubilee of the Holy Year of the Lord.”

This Jubilee Year, which unites the themes of hope with that of migration, will be able to help us “discover how the Christian faith changes life, renews our heart”. And again, the prelate concludes, it changes “our relationships, our way of understanding and feeling daily life, in the light of the love of God that was revealed in Jesus and in the gift of the Holy Spirit”.