The Archbishop of Colombo, His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, departed for the Vatican this morning (23).
It is reported that Cardinal Ranjith departed from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake at 9.30 a.m. to attend the funeral of Pope Francis, which will be held on Saturday, 26 April.
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday (April 21) at the age of 88 from a stroke, less than a month after returning home from five weeks in hospital battling double pneumonia.
His funeral, which is expected to draw huge crowds, will take place at 10.00 a.m. on Saturday (April 26) in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.