New Delhi and Vatican are in serious discussion to schedule the visit of Holy Father Pope Francis to India. The authorities are in touch to patch up a suitable set of dates towards the end of 2017 or an alternative set of dates in the early 2018 for his visit. The delay seen in the procedure is the drudging schedule of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The efforts to schedule the visit got its flow after Sushma Swaraj, the External Affairs Minister called on Pope Francis during her visit to Vatican for the canonization ceremony of Mother Teresa in September 2016.
As reported by the Matters India, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary-general of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, conveyed that, “We are still hopeful that the visit by Pope Francis to India will take place at least early next year, if not earlier.”
The Christians constitute the third largest religious group in India, with about 28million population. Apart from New Delhi, His Holiness may also visit Kolkata, Mumbai and few other cities depending on the number of days he would spend in India.
Source: www.mattersindia.com
