Pontiff to visit Myanmar, Bangladesh in November
August 28, 2017
Pope Francis will visit Myanmar and Bangladesh in November, the Vatican has confirmed.
Greg Burke, the director of the Vatican press office, announced on August 28 that the Holy Father will travel to Myanmar on November 27, remaining in that country until November 30. He will stop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from November 30 to December 2 before returning to Rome.
The possibility of a papal trip to Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) had been a subject of heavy speculation for several weeks. The plan for a stop in Bangladesh, a heavily Islamic country, was not generally anticipated.
Some Buddhist leaders in Myanmar had expressed opposition to a papal visit, because of the Vatican’s public protests against the persecution of the country’s (Muslim) Rohingya ethnic minority. Pope Francis had repeated his pleas for the Rohingya in his regular public audience on Sunday, August 27: the day before his trip was announced.
In Myanmar the Pope will visit the cities of Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw, Burke said. The papal spokesman did not mention any cities in Bangladesh other than the capital, Dhaka, as stops on the papal itinerary. More details of the schedule for the papal trip are expected soon.
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Further information:
- Declaration of the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke (Vatican press office)
- Pope to visit Myanmar in November? (CWN, 8/7)
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