Father Elias Marswanian Represents the Vatican at Expo 2020 Dubai
Interview by Elia Nasrallah
Translation by Mary Yahchouchy
The Middle East and the world witnessed between October 1 and March 31, 2021, a historic 6-month event full of culture, creativity, and innovation: Expo 2020 Dubai. Organizers wanted it to be a meeting point of civilizations, cultures and heritage, and a link between all people and religions. This World Expo in Dubai carries with it a humanitarian message reflected in the richness of diversity, brotherhood, dialogue, and acceptance of others. This year, a special pavilion for the Vatican was allocated for the first time, an initiative proving the commitment of the UAE to the encyclical Fratelli Tutti and was manifested as its most prominent fruits.
A Lebanese priest from the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, Father Elias Marswanian is in charge now of the pavilion, he is also member of the Ecojustice Adhoc Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches, who held a big part in the coverages of the Council to the Season of Creation 2021. He was chosen to represent the Vatican in the Dubai Expo, as he carried the East in his heart as a message of peace and hope in an exhibition bringing together the people of Earth.
In a remote meeting from the Vatican Pavilion, Marswanian takes us on a virtual tour, (as shown in the attached video) to learn about the most prominent displayed images, scenes, and sculptures. After the tour, we had a chat with the priest, who reflected the importance of this experience and explained the meanings of the exhibits in the pavilion.
The World Fair or Expo Dubai was built from scratch with an area of more than four square kilometers to become a bridge of transit and convergence between 192 countries from around the world, under the slogan "Connecting Minds, Creating the Future". And for a better future, the exhibition presents weekly topics dealing with the most prominent human challenges and opportunities such as climate and biodiversity, tolerance and inclusion, knowledge and learning, travel and communication... to be discussed and exchanged in different dialogue sessions.
From one pavilion to another, tourists and visitors wander with a passport designed to record the itinerary of his journey and the most important moments of Expo 2020 Dubai. One pavilion successfully mixed science and faith under the concept of fraternity and dialogue between cultures and religions, the pavilion of the Holy See of the Vatican. This smallest sovereign state in the world with global influence in its pavilion calls for the promotion of diplomatic dialogue between religions and the consolidation of the values of tolerance and coexistence.
Pavilion of History and Faith
According to the statement of the Pontifical Council for Culture in the Vatican, the Catholic country will participate in this international exhibition for the first time in one of the countries of the Middle East with a Muslim majority. The state used the pavilion as a symbol based on two historical meetings: the first between Saint Francis and Sultan al-Kamil Muhammad al-Ayyubi 800 years ago, and the second between His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyib in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019.
Compliance Towards Church is a Big Responsibility
In the beginning of his speech, Marswanian described the experience not being easy. He describes the path he chose to carry out this mission: "The concerned officials from the Vatican contacted our congregation in Italy. Then, I was contacted and asked to go through this mission." Of course, Marswanian agreed, he complied to the Church’s will. He explained: "St. Francis has always emphasized in our law on the compliance of monks to the Church, they go where the Church sends them. I consider this experience as a mission from the Church sending me to Dubai."
He continued: "This is a big and important responsibility because I represent the Vatican in Dubai. I open the pavilion doors in the morning and lock them in the evening, and it is necessary to pay attention to all displayed items. My mission here is a bridge linking religions, especially Christianity and Islam. The pavilion was distinguished with the number of Muslim visitors.”
A Message of Peace
Marswanian lived the experience of the Expo in a society that brings together all spectrums, where he received visitors and introduced Christian values, the first of which would be the acceptance of others. From here the priest says: “Often, visitors are not Christians, they might sometimes know nothing about Christianity. When I talk about Saint Francis, for example, some ask me what the word “Saint” means!” The mission of Father Elias therefore was to bridge the distance between visitors and Christianity through several explanations and interpretations.
The bridge-building sculpture
Marswanian added: “What distinguishes the pavilion is the communication between people of different civilizations. Many expressed their joy after the visit because they were acquainted with new human concepts. The spirituality of Saint Francis is also an important factor I am working to consolidate, especially since he was one of the first saints who dared negotiate with other religions during the time of the Crusades, to spread peace despite all obstacles. History repeated itself today with the visit of His Holiness Pope Francis to Abu Dhabi in 2019 and to Iraq, where he was always keen to spread peace.”
Marswanian explained: “My message today in the Vatican Pavilion in Dubai and among a diversity of religions to be a man of peace, and this requires us to believe that our God, Jesus Christ, is a God of peace. My message is to sow so that people may reap whenever they want."
On the other hand, Father Marswanian spoke from his media perspective and experience in such events: “We live today in what we can call the era of media and communication. Everything in the Expo is based on advanced communication and technology. The media has an important role especially in broadcasting a certain image of things.”
He added: “Our role today as media professionals lies in communicating with others and delivering the required message, and in helping visitors feel, by visiting the pavilion, that they are in Rome and the Vatican, through the exhibits it contains...”
Building Bridges among Cultures and Religions
The bridge-building sculpture
Back to the exhibits of the pavilion, Marswanian points out that the most striking sculpture is the bridge-building sculpture, but what does it represent? He explains: “it is a bridge extending on the two ends, with a group of people, in small figures, carrying it, and in its middle, another group of people meeting each other halfway. On top of the bridge, you will find three domes symbolizing the three heavenly religions. The largest door symbolizes the door of the Dubai Expo.”
He continued: “The sculpture symbolizes that building bridges is not a job for one side, it also requires the help of the other. Hence, our role to bridge distances in societies. This is why His Holiness Pope Francis calls for building bridges, not walls. The Expo is a place where people of different cultures, civilizations and backgrounds meet... Some people asked me, for example, about the dress I am wearing and its symbolism, and I answer with pleasure.”
The Season of Creation 2021
At the end of the interview, Father Elias Marswanian evidently told us about the series of videos he prepared and presented during The Season of Creation. The short videos were weekly published on the Middle East Council of Churches website and social media platforms.
He said: “It was a beautiful and positive experience for we re-discovered the things we did not pay attention to, especially in the Bible. In the videos, we always worked on the link between a verse from the Bible and an environmental topic, and this affected me most. We also discovered new filming locations.”
He concluded: “The Season of Creation experience introduced us to new connections and allowed us to communicate with people of different faiths to work together on the environmental cause. According to His Holiness the Pope, we are all on the same boat, we are all called to row together to reach land.”
Communication and Public Relations Department