Pope
Francis arrives in Sri Lanka to thunderous welcome
Pope Francis has just begun his Apostolic Visit to Sri Lanka.
Radio Vatican's envoy, Fr. Louis Xystus Jerome sent us this report:
The moment he alighted from the flight, a boy and a girl welcomed
the Holy Father with a garland of flowers – white and yellow in colour,
signifying the colours of the Vatican.
Then the new President
of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena and his wife welcomed him, followed by
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith and other dignitaries. As the Holy Father was walking
along the red carpet, a baby elephant was there to welcome him. Children
dressed in traditional attire representing different religions waved miniature
flags of the Vatican and Sri Lanka. Dancers on either side of the red carpet
were performing traditional dances.
When the Holy Father
along with the President took the podium, anthems of the Vatican and Sri Lanka
were played. During these anthems, the soldiers saluted the Holy Father.
After this, there was
the 21 gun salute normally reserved for heads of state. Following this, a group
of children, young men and women – all clad in blue, sang the welcome song in
various languages – English, Sinhala, Tamil and Italian.
The new President
Sirisena gave the welcome address. This is the very first public speech of the
new president -welcoming the Holy Father as the first dignitary visiting
Sri Lanka. The Holy Father then delivered
his first speech in Sri Lanka. The very first point that the Holy Father made
was, that this visit was pastoral. After
the welcome speeches and ceremony, the president introduced the Prime Minister
and other cabinet ministers to Pope Francis. Then Cardinal Ranjith introduced
members of the Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka.
The welcome ceremony
came to a close with the Holy Father writing a few lines and signing in the
Golden Book.
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