The St Joseph’s Cathedral in Abu Dhabi has a message of peace to deliver Pope Francis during his visit to the capital from February 3 to 5. According to the official itinerary of Pope Francis released by The Vatican, he will make a stop at the St Joseph’s Cathedral on February 5 Tuesday before heading to Zayed Sports City. “We are very excited the Pope will make a visit to our church. The church committee has prepared a symbolic message which will be delivered to the Pope during his short but one we know will be a very sweet visit,” said Fr Gandolf Wild OFMCap.

“The theme we have picked for the message is ‘Make me a channel of your peace,’” he added. In an interview to Gulf News at the Cathedral, Fr Gandolf revealed a logo developed by the church to symbolise this message of peace. The logo has been framed and ready to be handed to the Pope.

“We have a dove carrying an olive branch twig. The olive twig is a symbol of peace and so is the dove. The wings of the bird have been done in UAE flag colours signifying the country and its inherent values towards peace. There is a wonderful co-operation between the Vatican, our church and the UAE government to ensure the Pope’s visit is a great success,” he said.