More than half a million Sri Lankans applauded enthusiastically many were moved to tears when Pope Francis declared Joseph Vaz the 17th nbsp century missionary priest the first saint of this beautiful island in the Indian Ocean And then the bells pealed out with joy drowning the applause but n

Addressing the leaders and some 1 000 followers of Sri Lanka rsquo s four main religions ndash Buddhism Hinduism Islam and Christianity ndash at the end of his first day in the country Pope Francis urged them to ldquo put reconciliation among all Sri Lankans at the heart of every effort to r

Immediately on arrival in Sri Lanka on January 13 Pope Francis called for a process of reconciliation and healing ldquo and the pursuit of truth not for the sake of opening old wounds but rather as a necessary means of promoting justice healing and unity rdquo Known as a pope who does not duck

Pope Francis is returning to Asia for the second time stopping first in Sri Lanka a predominantly Buddhist country from January 13-15 and then taking a flight to the Philippines the most populous Catholic country in Asia where he will stay from January 15-19 This is his seventh foreign trip si

Hours before departing for Asia to visit Sri Lanka and the Philippines Francis made a heartfelt appeal for peace in the world as conflicts spread and tensions escalate in many countries nbsp He called for an end to conflicts in the Middle East especially in Syria and Iraq and for peaceful and n

New book explores the social teaching of the first Jesuit pope.

The newly-elected President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena will welcome Pope Francis when he arrives at Colombo international airport on Tuesday morning January 13 His predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa who had been in power for ten years and had hoped for a third term in office invited Francis

Veteran journalist discusses Catholic minority of this war-torn country

As Pope Francis prepared to journey to the Philippines Jan 15-19 the third most populous Catholic country in the world after Brazil and Mexico I interviewed a well-known Filipino peace advocate Ed Garcia about the significance of the papal visit and the situation in the country today at both

Pope Francis’ second visit to Asia (Jan. 12 to 19)—to Sri Lanka and the Philippines—is about to take place as I write. I am one of some 70 reporters accompanying him and will report for America. Here I wish to simply highlight some similarities and differences between the two count