Pope presses Sri Lankan unity call with Mass, Tamil visit

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Pope Francis pressed his call for Sri Lankan unity and reconciliation Wednesday with a Mass in Colombo to canonize the country's first saint and a visit to the war-ravaged north to pray at a shrine revered by both Sinhalese and Tamil faithful.

Tens of thousands of people waving Vatican flags poured into Colombo's seafront Galle Face Green for the Mass, with some spending the night to ensure a good spot. Francis arrived well ahead of time to greet the crowd, getting off his popemobile to kiss the sick and handicapped.

"My son can't understand what's going on, but I will take photographs and show him when he grows up how he attended this Holy Mass," said Pradeep Niroshan, a 31-year-old insurance agent as he carried his 2-year-old son en route to the service. "It will be memorable for him, because the next pope may come to Sri Lanka, may be after 20 years."

In fact, it was 20 years ago this week that St. John Paul II beatified the Rev. Joseph Vaz, a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists.

Bells rang out and the crowd erupted in applause when Francis declared Vaz a saint at the start of the service. The church considers Vaz a great model for today's faithful, ministering to the faithful of both Sri Lanka's ethnic groups and putting himself at great risk to spread the faith.

After Mass, Francis was to fly by helicopter to the northern city of Madhu to pray at the Our Lady of Madhu shrine. The visit is the first by a pope to the northern Tamil territory that was devastated by Sri Lanka's 25-year civil war. Francis is expected to call again for reconciliation among Sinhalese and Tamils, and people of different faiths to overcome the wounds of the war.

Catholics make up slightly more than 6 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 21 million, according to the government. They are by far the largest Christian denomination in the country. Other Christians make up just 1.3 percent of the population, which is mostly Buddhist.