Pope's Visit Sri Lanka
Galle Road, this city’s main thoroughfare was closed to traffic. Rather than the usual cacophony of blaring horns and veering tuk-tuks, streams of pilgrims flowed along the asphalt to the hypnotizing sound of hymns broadcast from PA systems and floating over the surrounding office blocks and hotels. It was peaceful. By contrast, the pilgrims’ final destination, Galle Face Green, was absolutely jammed with humanity. This 12-acre lawn situated between the city and the Indian Ocean held an estimated 500,000 people, which is extraordinary considering Catholics make up perhaps 6% of Sri Lanka’s population, or just over 1 million people. That’s when one could realized Pope Francis’s visit – the first papal visit to Sri Lanka since John Paul II’s in 1995 — had transcended faith. Looking around, there was an evidently mixed crowd. There were Sinhalese, Tamils, Eurasians, Muslims, and a sprinkling of foreigners. Driven by faith and determined to see Pope Francis ...