Pope Francis led a huge open air mass in Dhaka's Suhrawardy Udyan Park and ordained 16 priests on the second day of his historic visit to Bangladesh.
Pope Francis on Friday led a huge open air mass in Bangladesh and ordained 16 priests on the second day of his historic visit to the Muslim-majority country.
Over 100,000 people attended the Mass in Dhaka's main Suhrawardy Udyan Park, site of a memorial and museum of Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, where Francis arrived in an open popemobile. Catholics make less than per cent of the country's 160 million population.
Pope thanked those who came out for the mass, noting that some people had travelled two days to attend.
"I know that many of you came from afar, for a trip for more than two days," the pope told the crowd in his homily.
"Thank you for your generosity... this indicates the love that you have for the church," the pope said.
He sought blessings for the newly ordained priests.
The rituals started at 10:45 AM and ended just after 12 PM (local time), when the pope left the park.
The ceremony, also attended by foreign diplomats and government leaders, mirrored the ordination mass at the same park which Pope John Paul II celebrated during his Bangladesh visit in 1986.
In the same park, Bangladesh's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a speech laying the groundwork for the country's independence in a decisive moment for the country on March 7, 1971.
The pope is also expected to host an interfaith peace prayer alongside Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other Christian leaders at the archbishop's residence later today.
The Pope will also host an inter-religious gathering later on Friday, where he will lead a peace prayer alongside Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and other Christian leaders at the archbishop's residence.
He also met a group of 16 Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar where authorities have been accused of "ethnic cleansing" by the United States and United Nations.
He will also to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Vatican embassy later in the day.
About 620,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar's Rakhine State to Bangladesh since August to avoid military crackdown at their home.
The exodus followed a Myanmar military crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks on an army base and police posts on Aug. 25.
Scores of Rohingya villages were burnt to the ground, and refugees arriving in Bangladesh told of killings and rapes.
On Thursday night, the pope called for decisive measures to resolve the political reasons that caused the refugee crisis and urged countries to help the Dhaka government deal with it.
The Pope had earlier visited Myanmar where he did not use the word Rohingya to describe the refugees, which is contested by the Yangon government and military.
(With agency inputs)
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