On the occasion of the ninth anniversary of the election of His Holiness Pope Francis, the Ambassador of Vatican His Grace Archbishop Eugene Nugent, held a reception at the Crowne Plaza on 13 March. A large gathering of diplomats and special invitees attended the reception to celebrate the occasion.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Development and International Cooperation Affairs and Minister Plenipotentiary Hamad Sulaiman Al-Meshaan was the chief guest on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering Archbishop Nugent thanked the guests for their presence in celebrating the event. He then went on to note that it was very important to achieve peace in areas of conflict around the world. He also reaffirmed the commitment of the Holy See and the Catholic Church in Kuwait to continue to invest its human and material resources with all the expertise that it can call upon in the areas of education, health care, community development and the promotion of human rights.
The Catholic Church is a worldwide institution that has over 1.3 billion members and administers over 152,000 Catholic schools, 600 Catholic universities, 5,200 Catholic hospitals, 15,000 dispensaries and health centers, in addition to around 60,000 institutes for humanitarian assistance around the world.
Ambassador Nugent pointed out that it was a great honor for him to represent Pope Francis in Kuwait, before concluding his speech by saying, “As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, let us continue to work together to bring about the vision of His Holiness Pope Francis for a more just and equitable society, for greater respect for one another and for a real fraternity. To all my Kuwaiti friends present here and to all the authorities, I express the hope of continuing our joint efforts to promote greater social cohesion and the common good. In conclusion, allow me to assure His HIghness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait, of the prayers of the 300,000 strong Catholic community in Kuwait as well as their respect and esteem.”