Pope Francis will lead an open-air mass on Wednesday for some 200,000 Catholics in Myanmar, who have poured into Yangon for a papal visit so far framed by his sidestepping of the Rohingya crisis. Francis has held private talks with both civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing. This is the first ever papal visit to the country although there have been Catholics in Myanmar for over 500 years. Pilgrims arriving in Yangon for Wednesday’s mass have been bedding down wherever they can — even the graveyards of churches have turned into massive dormitories. “I know the pope will share his loving kindness and valuable words to make all of us peaceful.”

Source: Dhaka Tribune November 29, 2017 01:41 UTC