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Pope’s visit to Lanka: Small car and simple residence
View(s):Pope Francis in keeping with his simple and humble lifestyle and servant leadership, has asked for a small car and will live at the residence of the Papal Nuncio during his visit to Sri Lanka in January next year, a Vatican envoy said. Addressing a news conference at Archbishop’s House in Colombo, a Papal Nunciature official said Pope Francis had in his earlier trips to Brazil, the Holy Land and South Korea asked for simplicity and because that was the way he lived in the footsteps of Jesus. So would it be during his visit to Sri Lanka.
The Catholic Church is hoping that the first Saint of Sri Lanka will be canonised during Pope Francis’ visit next January.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, told the media that the Vatican Congregation which discerns on sainthood was expected to take a decision soon on the canonisation of Blessed Joseph Vaz. The Cardinal said the Sri Lankan Church was hopeful that a positive decision would be taken and that the canonisation would be formalised at the Holy Mass which Pope Francis would celebrate at the Galle Face Green on January 14.
Blessed Joseph Vaz was born in Goa, India and came to Sri Lanka during the era of the Dutch persecution of the Catholic community. The Cardinal recalled that it was the Kandyan kingdom that provided protection to Blessed Joseph Vaz who courageously carried out his mission there and was buried somewhere in the Kandyan kingdom area.
Though he came from Goa, the Cardinal said he was considered an adopted son of Sri Lanka and raising Blessed Joseph Vaz to the sainthood would be an honour and blessing to the country. The theme for Pope Francis’ visit from January 13 to 15 will be “Abiding Love”. Pope Francis who has been turning the Church and the World upside down since his election in February last year will arrive at the Bandaranaike International Airport on January 13.
The Pope has said he would like to travel in a small vehicle. The motorcade carrying him will move from the BIA to Colombo along the Negombo Road and thousands of people are expected to line the streets. The Pope’s first stop will be the Archbishop’s House where he will have lunch with the Catholic Bishops and others. After resting at the residence of the Papal Nuncio in Colombo, he will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other government leaders at Temple Trees. The same evening, the Pope will have a dialogue at the BMICH with leaders of other religions and Christian denominations.
The high point of Pope Francis’s visit will be the Holy Mass on January 14 at 8.30 a.m. at the Galle Face Green. Several hundred thousand people are expected to attend the first papal mass since the late Pope John Paul II presided at a Holy Mass on January 20, 1995 at the same venue where he beatified Joseph Vaz. After the mass and lunch, Pope Francis will travel by helicopter to Madhu where he will conduct a one-hour service and give a message from Sri Lanka’s most hallowed Catholic shrine.
Pope Francis will leave on January 15 morning for his next visit to the Philippines. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said the normal canonisation process required proof of at least one miracle through the intercession of Blessed Joseph Vaz. This involved a Sri Lanka couple. The wife was pregnant with twins and doctors had warned that unless one child was aborted there was a risk of death. But the couple had prayed for intercession by Blessed Joseph Vaz and twin girls were born safely.
Responding to questions by journalists about a possible presidential election in January, the Cardinal said the Church had not been officially informed of any such election, but he said it was the normal practice that the Pope would not visit any country during the time of an election campaign. The Cardinal said he was deeply grateful to the Government for providing all the support and resources required for the Pope’s state visit. Arrangements at the government level were being made under the guidance of President Rajapaksa and a committee headed by External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.