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DHAKA: Pope Francis on Saturday (December 02) left Dhaka, wrapping up his three-day official tour in Bangladesh.
He flied to Rome of Italy from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after 5:00 pm.
Pope Francis ended his trip to Asia after seeking the forgiveness of Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh.
On the last day of his visit, the Pope went to a home in Dhaka founded by Mother Teresa for orphans, unwed mothers and destitute elderly.
Later, he joined a function for youths held at the Notre Dame College in the city. Around 7,000 young Catholics, Muslims and followers of other religions joined the function.
In his speech, the Pole made different suggestions for the youths. He spoke about welcoming and accepting those who "act and think differently than ourselves".
"When a man, a religion or a society turns into a little world, they lose the best that they have and plunge into a self-righteous mentality of 'I am good and you are bad', the Pope said.
He also asked his young listeners to not spend the whole day playing with your phone and ignoring the world around you!
Pope Francis came to Bangladesh on November 30 after wrapping his three-day tour in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. He visited Myanmar from November 27 to 30.
Huge number of police and members of other law enforcing agencies were deployed in the city to ensure the security of Pope Francis. The intelligence forces assisted the law enforcers.
Pope Francis visited Dhaka at the invitation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Catholic Archbishop of Dhaka Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario. President Abdul Hamid received him at the airport.
An advance team from the Vatican earlier visited Bangladesh to coordinate preparation for the visit with the protocol wing of the Foreign Ministry.
On November 26 in 1970, the sixth Pope was the first person who visited Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) during an hour-long stopover here on his way to Manila. Pope John Paul II visited Bangladesh in 1986.
BDST: 1900 HRS, DEC 02, 2017
EHJ