Pope Francis delivers first papal mass in Arabian Peninsula Tuesday Feb 05,2019

Pope Francis became the first pontiff to deliver Mass in the Arabian Peninsula, the birthplace of Islam, on Tuesday Feb 05,2019, speaking in front of tens of thousands of people in Abu Dhabi at the end of a historic visit to the United Arab EmiratesUAE)

The ceremony took place inside and around Zayed Sports City stadium, where a large crucifix -- a rare sight in an Arab Gulf state -- loomed above the makeshift steeple.

In his homily, the Pope praised the crowd as "a choir composed of numerous nations, languages and rites." Perhaps in a nod to the UAE's large immigrant population, he said: "It is most certainly not easy for you to live far from home, missing the affection of your loved ones, and perhaps also feeling uncertainty about the future. But the Lord is faithful and does not abandon his people."

"The Lord specializes in doing new things; he can even open paths in the desert," he added.

Prayers were conducted in six languages -- including French, Tagalog, Urdu and Konkani -- for attendees from multiple Christian denominations, as well as some Muslims. Around 45,000 people crammed into the stadium while the rest of the attendees sat outside, with crowds sprawling outside the venue