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6 years ago

Pope Francis to arrive on Nov 30

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Pope Francis will arrive in Bangladesh for a three-day visit at the end of November.

 

The pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican, will arrive in Dhaka on Nov 30, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.

 

The visit includes a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who invited him to Dhaka, according to the statement.

 

Pope Francis, 81, will also meet President Md Abdul Hamid and give audience to the Christian community in Bangladesh.

 

The pope’s apostolic visit, which aims to investigate a special circumstance in a diocese or country, will continue until Dec 2.

 

“An advanced team recently visited Bangladesh to coordinate the preparation of the visit with the Protocol Wing of the Ministry,” the foreign ministry said.

 

Born in Argentina as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he was elected the 266th pope in 2013. He then adopted the papal name Francis.

 

He had appointed Patrick D'Rozario, the archbishop of Bangladesh, as the first ever cardinal from Bangladesh on Nov 19, 2016.

 

Pope John Paul visited Bangladesh in 1986. Catholics make up a small minority community in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation.

 

Pope Francis will visit also Myanmar, after its de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi set up diplomatic ties with the Vatican during a visit in May this year, according to Reuters.

 

“He would visit Myanmar from Nov 27 to 30, stopping in Yangon and in the capital, Naypyitaw,” the report said. The focus of his visit to these two countries would be centred on the crisis surrounding the treatment of Rohingya Muslims, it added.

 

Pope Francis had strongly criticised the treatment of Myanmar’s Rohingya community, saying they were being tortured and murdered simply because of their culture and Muslim faith.

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