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Sirisena to welcome Pope at BIA Rajapaksa to be invited
Pope Francis will be greeted by the newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena when he arrives at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Catholic Church said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday told former president Mahinda Rajapaksa that he also would be invited to greet the Pope at the airport since it was Mr. Rajapaksa who had invited the pontiff.
The assistant Master of Ceremonies for the papal visit will arrive in the country today (11) as the Catholic Church finalises arrangements for the papal visit from January 13 to 15.
A papal security team arrived in Sri Lanka on Friday to check on the security arrangements for the Pope’s visit. A Vatican liturgical team will also be coming here tomorrow.
The Chief Master of Ceremonies will be arriving with the Pope on Tuesday with about 80 Vatican accredited journalists also on board the papal flight.
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