Pope Francis on Tuesday arrived here for a three day visit to Sri Lanka and said that his wish is to see the island nation become a country that honors human rights and brings about religious and political reconciliation among its communities.
The Pope was received by the newly elected Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and the Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcom Ranjith at the airport.
Pope Francis was given a guard of honour by Sri Lankan armed forces while the traditional Sinhalese and Tamil dances greeted him.
The Pope congratulated the President Sirisena on his election victory and said his visit to Sri Lanka is purely pastoral to help the country ravaged by civil war for a quarter century to rebuild and regain peace.