Pope Francis may be visiting Sri Lanka in the very near future after her visited with pilgrims from Sri Lanka, who were with Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, on Saturday.
He told the pilgrims that, “Your homeland is called the Pearl of the Indian Ocean, on account of its natural beauty and its shape. They say that the pearl is formed from the tears of the oyster. Unfortunately, many tears have been shed in recent years, on account of the internal conflict which caused so many victims and so much damage,” according to Reuters. Sri Lanka has been in a 26 year civil war that ended in 2009.
Catholic Culture reports that a formal invitation must be sent from the government before the papal can visit. President Mahinda Rajapaksa issued an invitation to the Pope.
The world has watched as the new People, who was elected in March, take a laid back role. He rejected the opulence of the papal apartments, and lives in the guest apartments instead. He also leads a more active role in charities and urges others to do as well. The Pope, recently, baptized children inside the Sistine Chapel, where he told mothers to be comfortable and to feed their children, as well as he baptized a child, whose mother and father were not wed in a traditional wedding ceremony.