[1/5] Najla Uchi poses for a photo on her altar in her home in Manama, Bahrain, October 30, 2022.
REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed/File PhotoMANAMA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - When Pope Francis visits Bahrain this week, it will be a dream come true for many Christians in the Gulf Arab country, but especially for Najla Uchi, whose father helped build the first Roman Catholic church in the island state.
Lighting a candle at her home altar lined with religious icons, 78-year-old Najla Uchi said she had been saying a daily prayer for Pope Francis, who is due to arrive on Thursday.
In the Sacred Heart Church yard, people pose for pictures in front of posters of Pope Francis.
In 2019, Pope Francis visited Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the first pontiff to visit the Arabian peninsula and say a Mass there.