Eighty thousands roman Catholics of Bangladesh’s Christian community are excitingly waiting to join an open-air mass prayer tomorrow at Suhrawardy Udyan as their supreme priest Pope Francis is now in their own yard to lead the prayer with his all blessings.

‘We took all our preparations to arrange the mass where around 80,000 Catholics from our eight Dioceses across Bangladesh will join with His Holiness Pope Francis for offering peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh,’ Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, the top Catholic official of Bangladesh told journalists at a press briefing earlier in the week, reports the BSS.

Bangladesh today rolled out the red carpet as the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal (R) International Airport (HSIA) in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon on a three-day state visit.

He said that Pope comes to celebrate peace and harmony in Bangladesh is a matter of immense joy, hope and pride for the Christian community.

A 21-gun salute heralded the arrival of the 80-year-old Pope Francis when he alighted from a VVIP flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in Dhaka, wrapping up his three-day Myanmar visit, at around at 3:05pm, received by President M Abdul Hamid.

The Pope also led same kind of open-air mass in Yangon during his visit to Myanmar where he called tens of thousands of people to shun anger and revenge.

His call for justice, human rights and respect for all to Myanmar people were widely seen as applicable to the Rohingya, who are not recognised as citizens or as members of a distinct ethnic group.

‘The twofold aspects of His Holiness visit here is - a state visit

because he is the Head of the State of Vatican and a pastoral visit since he is the supreme pastor of the Catholic Church and its Spiritual Head,’ D’Rozario, Arch Bishop of Dhaka said.

Pope Francis is the second Pope visiting Bangladesh. About 31 years ago, on November 19, 1986, His Holiness Pope John Paul II officially visited Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, an intensified security measures were taken centring the visit of the Catholic priest to Bangladesh especially surrounding of the Suhrawardy Udyan.

After leading the mass, Pope Francis will visit the Vatican Embassy (Apostolic Nunciature) in Dhaka at Baridhara where he will meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in afternoon.

Later in the day tomorrow, Pope will hold a meeting with Bishops of Bangladesh in the garden of Arch Bishop’s house in the city.

On Saturday, Pope Francis will visit Tejgaon Mother Theresa House and meet with priests, religious and consecrated men and women, seminarians and novices in the church of the Holy Rosary in Tejgaon.

He will deliver a speech before nearly 10,000 youths in Notre Dame College in the capital at 3.20 pm. The Pope will leave Dhaka at 5 pm after receiving an official farewell at HSIA.