The worshippers of St Joseph’s will never forget February the fifth, the day the head of the Catholic faith visited their modest church and blessed the congregation.
And none more so than Sena Davies who will, from this day, carry the pope’s rosary beads that he gave to her.
Dressed in school uniform and stood outside the church, after the Pope left, Sena, 6, gleefully twisted the beads between her fingers.
“The Pope gave me his necklace,” Sena, from Ethiopia, said proudly.
She was given the rosary after taking part in a private prayer with the Pope and a few other pupils. She presented Pope Francis with a card she had painted, and he repaid her with the unique gift, which he had blessed.
Sena was among dozens of worshippers who were invited to the Pope’s private visit to St Joseph’s Cathedral on Tuesday, ahead of his Mass at Zayed Sports City.
While the building has none of the grandeur of the great cathedrals of Europe, it has stood in the heart of Abu Dhabi since the 1960s.
Pope Francis arrived in a similarly humble Kia Soul at 9am to cheers from crowds leaning against barricades, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
Inside, after an introduction from Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern Arabia, and saying a few words to the crowd, the Pope walked among members of the congregation, shaking their hands and blessing children.
He also stopped to bless a row of people in wheelchairs, praying they be healed.
"We saw the Pope close-up. He was so close we could have touched him," said Imelda Popplewell, 49.
"I said to him 'welcome' and he looked back at me and smiled.
"He gave us a wave and looked directly at us," the British teacher said.
Ms Popplewell was one of five teachers from the British School Al Khubairat to have been selected from a draw to attend church during the Pope’s visit.
They were escorting 25 Emirati pupils who had also been invited to the event as part of the Year of Tolerance.
Hannah Robb, 50, another teacher from BSAK said she would never forget this day.
"I have been living in Abu Dhabi for 35 years, and I must say this is the most important event that has ever happened to me in the UAE.”
Ms Robb said that as an Irish Catholic, the Pope’s visit carried extra special meaning for her.
"You never get this experience as an ordinary person, to be so close to the Pope, anywhere else in the world."
She said she within arms' distance of him. “He looked directly at us and smiled, and took a card from one of the students. He just looked so happy to be here."
Ms Robb has been in the presence of a Pope before, when she was 10 years old she saw Pope John Paul II during his visit to Ireland in 1979.
"I went to mass with him in Dublin. He was far, absolutely nothing like today," she said.
Allen Joseph, Ashten Raja and Daksh Pandit, from India, were among 225 boys and girls selected by the church for altar-service during the Pope’s visit to the cathedral.
They stood in the front yard in robes of white and red to welcome the Pope and see him off before his Mass.
“The pope arrived in his car, with a bunch of black cars, and they started rounding around the cathedral,’ said Daksh, 9.
“And he was waving at everyone,” added Ashten, 13.
Those who were invited to the event, more than 200 people, stood on the sides waving back at him.
“After the Pope stopped his car, one of his guards started giving us his card,” said Daksh, pulling out a portrait of the Pope bearing the Vatican seal.
When it came time for the pontiff to leave, the altar boys and girls stood outside and sang him a song in Latin, while the Pope got into his modest Kia Soul, leaving an imprint on the congregation of the church forever more.
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
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ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO
Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)
Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)
Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)
