DHAKA: National flags flew at half-mast in Bangladesh on Thursday as the Muslim-majority nation began three days of state mourning for Pope Francis.
The Argentine pontiff, leader of the Catholic Church since March 2013, died at his residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican on Monday. He was 88 years old.
Bangladesh’s interim administration issued a notification on Wednesday night, announcing that the government had decided to hold special prayers in memory of the pope and lower national flags to half-staff on buildings across the country, as well as at its missions abroad.
Bangladesh’s Christians account for less than 0.5 percent of its population. Most of them, about 400,000, are Catholic.
It is the first time Bangladesh is observing three days of remembrance for a Catholic leader.
“This is a great honor given to him,” Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, former archbishop of Dhaka, told Arab News.
“Our country, Bangladesh, has decided well to mourn for three days. This is not because of the church, but because his messages were always universal, moral, and social.”
Bangladesh’s chief adviser, Prof. Muhammad Yunus, who heads its interim government, is going to attend the service.
Yunus, an economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, worked with Francis on poverty alleviation.
“Pope Francis was a towering figure of moral clarity, humility, and compassion in our time. His lifelong dedication to justice, peace, and the dignity of every human being resonated far beyond the Catholic world,” he said in a statement on the pope’s passing.
“His leadership, rooted in the values of fraternity and service, inspired global efforts to uplift the poor, protect the vulnerable, and build a more humane and peaceful world.”
Agencies