His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, departed for the Vatican yesterday (23) to participate in the funeral mass of His Holiness Pope Francis. The funeral will be held at St. Peter’s Square on April 26.
Cardinal Ranjith left Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, at 9:30 a.m. on Monday.
His Holiness Pope Francis, the first Latin American pontiff and a transformative figure in the Roman Catholic Church, passed away on Monday following a stroke.
Following the Pope’s demise, 135 cardinals under the age of eighty from around the world are now eligible to participate in the conclave to elect the next pontiff. Among the candidates proposed to fill the vacant papacy, nine names have been put forward—one of which is His Eminence Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, representing Sri Lanka.
Cardinal Ranjith was appointed as the Archbishop of Colombo in 2013, succeeding His Eminence Bishop Oswald Gomis upon his retirement. Renowned for his linguistic proficiency, Cardinal Ranjith is fluent in Sinhala, Tamil, English, Italian, French, German, Hebrew, Greek, Spanish, and Latin. He has long been recognized for his commitment to promoting religious harmony among Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, and for his efforts in fostering national unity among Sinhalese, Tamil, and Muslim communities.
