About 30,000 flag-waving worshipers attended an open-air mass held by Pope Francis in mainly Muslim Bahrain on Saturday, the culmination of his mission to the Gulf.

Some of the community were in tears as they waited to see the 85-year-old at Bahrain’s National Stadium, the Kingdom’s largest venue.

Francis, who is confined to a wheelchair and cane due to knee problems, smiled and waved to the crowd from an open popemobile in which he sat, flanked by more than a dozen appropriate security guards and attendants.

As a 100-strong multinational choir sang in multiple languages, the Argentine stood to kiss children who greeted him inside the specially adapted vehicle, which slowly approached a white stage in front of a giant golden cross.

“This country is a living image of coexistence in diversity and almost an image of our world, which is increasingly characterized by constant migration and a pluralism of ideas, customs and traditions,” he said in a speech.

The pope, who has made contact with Islam a pillar of his papacy, is on his second visit to the resource-rich Gulf region, the cradle of Islam.

During his 2019 trip to the United Arab Emirates, he led a mass for 170,000 people and signed a Christian-Muslim Manifesto for Peace.

He has spent much of his four-day trip to Bahrain meeting senior officials and religious figures, but for Catholics in the tiny island nation, including many migrant workers, Saturday’s Mass was the highlight.

“We’ve been here since one o’clock. We didn’t sleep,” said volunteer Philomina Abranches, 46, an Indian-born Bahrain resident.

“We’re so excited. We all call him ‘daddy’. More than anything, he represents peace in the world. That’s what we need now.”

Margerite Heida, 63, also a Bahrain resident, said: “Having Pope Francis as a guest is the best feeling. This is the biggest event of the year.”

Heida waited for her second look at the Pope.

“I saw him at church yesterday,” she said. “I’m lucky to see him. I was also able to hold his hand yesterday and got his blessing.”

Many believers came to catch a glimpse of the pope from the Gulf region, which is home to about two million Catholics, mostly expatriate workers from South Asia and the Philippines.

Like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain is considered a relatively tolerant Arab nation.

Nonetheless, NGOs continue to point to discrimination, repression and harassment by the Sunni elite against Shia Muslims in Bahrain, crackdowns on opposition figures and activists and other abuses.

A government spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday that Bahrain “does not tolerate discrimination” and “is proud of its values ??of tolerance”.

The statement said that “no person” will be prosecuted “for their religious or political beliefs,” but noted “a duty to investigate” anyone who “incites, encourages or glorifies violence or hatred.”

Everyone in the stadium was given a plastic bag containing a white baseball cap, a paper Vatican flag, a bottle of water, a booklet detailing the Mass, and some biscuits.

Pope Francis’ 39th foreign visit is largely aimed at building relationships with Muslim officials. On Friday he met the Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque, one of the leading authorities on Sunni Islam, and members of the Muslim Council of Elders.

He also attended a service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, the largest in the Arabian Peninsula, seating more than 2,000. Hundreds of migrant workers were part of the community that welcomed him.

Later on Saturday, Francis will be meeting children at Sacred Heart School.

On Sunday he is due to attend a prayer meeting at the 83-year-old Sacred Heart Church – the oldest in the region – before flying back to Rome.