A quota system is being adopted to issue invitations to events during Pope Francis’ historic visit to Bahrain next month.
Tokens will be sent to a small representation from different sectors and categories.
Those who receive these tokens and have submitted their contact details will be registered on a special portal, after which they will receive details by email on how to receive their entry ticket.
The 85-year-old Pontiff is set to become the first-ever head of the Roman Catholic Church to visit the kingdom when he arrives on November 3 and stays until November 6.
The visit, at the invitation of His Majesty King Hamad, comes after the latter visited the Pope in 2014.
Apostolic Administrator of Northern Arabia Bishop Paul Hinder said suggestions and recommendations had been invited on how tickets were to be distributed in the parishes of the countries of the Vicariate of Northern Arabia.
“Following this, quotas have been assigned to the countries of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (AVONA) and the distribution of invitations for a small representation of the faithful in some countries has commenced,” said Bishop Hinder in a statement.
“Those who have received invitations and have submitted their contact details to the respective parish co-ordinators can expect to receive the details of their pass in due course through email.
“I am happy to announce that the authorities in Bahrain have notified that they will issue an eVisa for all those who hold a valid entry pass.”
Details of the system will be announced soon.
The motto of the papal visit is: ‘Peace on earth to people of goodwill’.
“It has been decided to use a quota system based on the major language groups and nationalities and to issue invitation tokens to a small representation from the different sectors and categories,” said the statement.
“As time is limited, this process will commence immediately.
“Those who receive the invitation tokens and have submitted their contact details will be registered on a special portal opened by the government for this purpose, after which they will receive details by email on how to receive their entry ticket.”
Most of the events are by invitation only or closed-door functions except for the public Holy Mass on November 5.
The Mass and the other activities will be streamed live.
“I know that many of you may be disappointed in not being able to secure an invitation to the Papal Mass,” said Bishop Hinder.
“At the same time, we have to keep in mind that the size of the stadium is not able to fit the size of our Catholic community in Bahrain, much less the Catholic community in the Vicariate.
“Let us also remember some of the faithful of the neighbouring countries which are much bigger in size and are making huge sacrifices even to travel to the venue.
“As the host country, I request the understanding of the faithful in Bahrain and to maintain the spirit of prayer, peace, joy, and welcome.”
Pope Francis visited the UAE in 2019, attracting more than 150,000 people to Abu Dhabi for Mass.
For more details, visit www.bahrainpapalvisit.org
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