Pope Francis begins second trip to Asia in two years

Pope Francis begins his six-day visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, for the pontiff this trip to Asia will be the second in two years as head of the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis will be the first head of the Roman Catholic Church, who will visit Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war in the country in 2009, ending with the victory of government forces over Tamil militants.

The pope will meet with religious leaders in Sri Lanka, a state where 7% of the population professes Christianity.

Francis, during his visit, canonized the priest and missionary Joseph Vaza, who in the 17 century was engaged in missionary activity in Sri Lanka and restored the church destroyed by the Dutch Calvinists.

The Pontiff will also visit Madhu, the main place of pilgrimage for Catholics in Sri Lanka.

Pope’s visit takes place after the presidential election, in which Maitripal Sirísen won, promising to put an end to the oppression of religious groups.

In the Philippines, the pope plans to hold several open-air sermons and also meet with victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 2013 thousand people in 10.

Pope's pilgrimage will be his seventh overseas trip and the second to the Asian continent. Only five months ago, Dad visited South Korea, writes BBC News ..