Pope Francis starts Asia tour, arrive in Sri Lanka

Francis has a busy first day, including an airport arrival speech and a meeting with the country’s



bishops. The main event is an afternoon meeting with representatives of its major religious groups.

On Wednesday, Francis will canonise Sri Lanka’s first saint, the Rev. Joseph Vaz, a 17th century missionary credited with reviving the Catholic faith among both Sinhalese and Tamils. Later in the day, he flies into Tamil territory to pray at a shrine beloved by both Sinhalese and Tamil faithful.