A look back on Pope Francis’s Bangladesh visit, the message he gave

During the meeting with the Rohingya at that time, he gave a message to alleviate the sufferings of the immigrants and refugees, Father Joyanto says

Pope Francis arrived in Dhaka in November 2017, at a time when the indescribable plight of Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar was causing a stir around the globe, and Bangladesh was struggling to shelter them.

Before coming to Dhaka, his visit to Myanmar was seen as an opportunity to highlight the Rohingya people’s rights on the world stage.

However, during his visit to Naypyidaw, he denounced the persecution in Rakhine, but drew criticism for avoiding the term “Rohingya”. The top Catholic cleric then visited Dhaka and met with some of the community members and sent a message of compassion to all the refugees.

The Christian community of Bangladesh still remembers the pope’s three-day visit to Dhaka in late November and early December 2017 with deep affection and reverence.

They also recalled the pope’s admiration of Bangladesh's inter-religious harmony.

Father Joyanto S Gomes, the head priest of Holy Rosary Church in Tejgaon, still remembers his meeting with Pope Francis eight years ago and his busy schedule in Dhaka.

Recalling the pope's visit, he told bdnews24.com on Monday that Pope Francis had led a Mass at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan and attended different events for Christians at churches in Kakrail and Tejgaon.

On Dec 1 of that year, Pope Francis, the head cleric of the Catholic Christians, anointed 16 priests at the Mass in the presence of about 80,000 Christian devotees.

The pope prayed for peace and prosperity for the people of Bangladesh and the world during the two-and-a-half-hour Mass from 9:30am that morning. He also addressed the followers of Jesus Christ.

Father Joyanto said, "He always spoke in favour of peace, saving nature and the earth. He spoke about the rights of the poor and the distressed and stood by them. He gave a similar message during his visit to Bangladesh."

He said the pope had also admired the living of the country’s different communities in harmony. He hoped that would always be the case. This was very important for Bangladesh.

"He was vocal for the rights of immigrants and refugees. During the meeting with the Rohingya at that time, he gave a message to alleviate the sufferings of the immigrants and refugees," the father added.

The pontiff who died aged 88 on Monday was the first pope to set foot in Bangladesh in 30 years. Pope John Paul II visited Dhaka in 1986.

THREE BUSY DAYS IN DHAKA

When Pope Francis, the head of state of the Vatican, arrived in Dhaka on Nov 30, 2017, he was received by the then president Abdul Hamid. He was accorded a colourful red carpet reception.

The pope went directly from the airport to the National Memorial in Savar. He placed a wreath at the memorial to show respect to Bangladesh’s independence heroes.

He later visited the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi in Dhaka and paid tributes to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The museum was demolished after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's 15 years of rule came to an end in the student-led mass uprising.

The pope held a private meeting with former president Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban after leaving the museum. He also met cabinet members and diplomats at the Darbar Hall.

On the second day of his tour on Dec 1, he led a Mass at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan. Later, he held talks with Hasina at the Vatican embassy in Dhaka.

Later in the day, the pope held a meeting with bishops at Ramna Cathedral in Kakrail and attended an Interreligious and Ecumenical Meeting for Peace there to preach communal harmony.

In this emotional interreligious conference which was attended by 16 Rohingya from three separate families, the pope used the term Rohingya for the first time during his Asia trip.

On the same day, he held a meeting with the bishops at the Archbishop's House and participated in a meeting on inter-religious and inter-communal unity for peace.

On the last day of his visit on Dec 3, the pope visited Mother Teresa Homes in Tejgaon in the morning. He listened to the plight of the orphans and needy people sheltered there.

The visit was followed by meetings with priests and religious leaders at the Holy Rosary Church where he said Bangladesh is a role model of peaceful coexistence of people with different religious beliefs. He visited the church’s graveyard afterwards.

He left Dhaka after attending a session to exchange views with the youths at Notre Dame College that afternoon.

Calling for the avoidance of self-righteous mentality, the pope said when a person, a society or a religion says they are the best, that is when their decline begins.

NATION RECALLING POPE

The Christian devotees have worn black badges to mourn the death of Pope Francis.

His portrait has been placed at St Mary's Cathedral in Kakrail. The church also offers a prayer service for the top priest in the evening.

Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze said he was "deeply saddened" by the death of the "holy father" Pope Francis, who was celebrating Easter to joyfully commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He said, "We are saddened. He was a very simple person. He lived a simple life with a very kind heart. He had great love for the poor.

"His love was for the refugees, for the migrants, for the asylum seekers and for their rights. He had appealed to numerous organisations around the globe to pay attention to them."

"I call on everyone, especially in Bangladesh and the entire world to pray that God grants our pope eternal peace," Bejoy said.

St Mary's Cathedral in Kakrail has not yet announced any programme after the pope’s death.

Father Milton Denis Corraya, chancellor of Dhaka Mahadharma Pradesh, told bdnews24.com: "No programme has been announced yet. A decision will be taken after a talk with all."