Sri Lanka | Thousands gather as Pope celebrates mass, canonizes saint

Pope Francis kisses a child upon his arrival in the seafront Galle Face Green for the canonization ceremony of Joseph Vaz, in Colombo

Pope Francis pressed his call for Sri Lankan unity and reconciliation yesterday 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 packed the capital’s seafront park for the Mass, with some spending the night under the stars to ensure a good spot. Seemingly rested after a grueling first day of his Asian tour, Francis arrived well ahead of time to greet the crowd, getting off his popemobile to kiss the sick and handicapped.
Bells rang out and the crowd erupted in applause when Francis declared the Rev. Joseph Vaz a saint at the start of the service. Vaz was 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.
The Catholic 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.
Francis told the crowd that Vaz lived at a time — like today — when Catholics were a minority and often persecuted, and yet he ministered to all, regardless of their ethnic or religious background.
“St. Joseph shows us the importance of transcending religious divisions in the service of peace,” Francis said in his homily, delivered in English and then summarized for the crowd in both Sinhalese and Tamil. “As the life of St. Joseph Vaz teaches us, genuine worship of God bears fruit not in discrimination, hatred and violence, but in respect for the sacredness of life, respect for the dignity and freedom of others, and loving commitment to the welfare of all.”
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, which erupted in 1983 with Tamil demands for an independent homeland because of perceived discrimination by the Sinhalese majority. Nicole Winfield and Jayampathi Palipane, Madhu , AP