Pope Francis to visit Bahrain in push for Muslim-Christian dialogue

Pope Francis will travel to Bahrain in November to press his message of dialogue with the Muslim world, the first pope to visit the country the Vatican says.

Bahrain is home to the Gulf’s first Catholic Church, located in the capital Manama, as well as its biggest one, Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, which opened last year in the desert town of Awali.

Francis is due to visit both cities during the Nov. 3-6 visit. The Vatican says he will take part in a conference called the “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence.”

Francis, 85, has made dialogue with the Muslim world a hallmark of his papacy. He recently returned from a visit to majority-Muslim Kazakhstan, where he took part in an interfaith summit.