(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has expressed his condolences over the demise of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
“It’s with sadness that the people of Sri Lanka, especially those of the Catholic faith and I share, with His Holiness Pope Francis and the Catholic community worldwide, heartfelt condolences on the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI,” the President said on Twitter.
President Wickremesinghe said Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI leaves a footprint of “ecumenical dialogue.”
Former Pope Benedict XVI died, aged 95, earlier today, almost a decade after he stood down because of ailing health.
He led the Catholic Church for fewer than eight years until 2013, becoming in the first Pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415.
