&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Pope Francis has not come to India so far, how important is PM Modi’s invitation? , PM Modi invited the Pope to India – News18 Kannada
Achi-News")
Achi news desk-
Italy (June 15): Prime Minister Modi met Pope Francis at the G7 summit on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Pope Francis to visit India. This time Pope Francis is expected to visit India. PM Modi was seen hugging the 87-year-old Pope Francis and having a light conversation.
Prime Minister Modi had invited Pope Francis to visit India in 2016 and 2021. But they did not come. Prime Minister Modi has also invited the head of the Vatican, Pope Francis, to visit India during the G7 summit to be held in Italy this time. Now we have to wait and see if Pope Francis will come or not and when he will come. If he does, it will be his first visit to a Hindu majority nation.
In fact, Prime Minister Modi and Pope Francis had a cordial meeting at the ‘Outreach Session’ of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy. I appreciate their commitment to serve people and improve our planet,” PM Modi said. He also invited them to come to India. At the same time, Pope Francis has also accepted the invitation.
In his speech at an ‘Outreach Session’ on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Energy, Africa and the Mediterranean, it is up to all of us to make good use of AI. It is worth noting that Modi is the fifth Prime Minister of India to meet the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
Which former Prime Ministers have met Modi in the past?
Before Prime Minister Modi, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Inder Kumar Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee met the Pope. When Prime Minister Modi visited Rome for the G20 summit in 2021, he met Pope Francis and invited him to visit India. Pope Francis was supposed to visit India in 2016, but could not. Talking about Pope Francis, he is yet to visit India. The last Pope to visit India was John Paul II, who came to New Delhi in 1999 to launch a papal document on the Church in Asia.
How many Popes have visited India?
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who met John Paul II at the Vatican in 2000, was the last Indian Prime Minister to meet the Pope before Modi. So far the Pope has visited India three times. The first Pope to visit India was Pope Paul VI, who came to Mumbai in 1964 to attend the International Eucharistic Congress. Pope John Paul II visited India in February 1986 and again in November 1999. However, Pope Francis has yet to visit India. But he has visited India’s neighboring countries Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Visit to India, how important is the Pope’s invitation?
Now the question is, how important is the Pope’s invitation to visit India? So the answer is that India has the second largest Catholic population in Asia. In fact, the number of Roman Catholics in India is more than 20 million. Christianity is the third largest religion in India after Hinduism and Islam.
After the Philippines, India is the only country in Asia with the highest Catholic population. Seen from this perspective, the Pope’s visit is very significant for India. His arrival has caused a wave of happiness among the Christians and the clergy. This is about one and a half percent of India’s population. Churches and clergy in India have also been waiting for a Pope for a long time. Priests have repeatedly appealed to Prime Minister Modi to invite the Pope to visit India.
The meaning of inviting the Pope
Even from a political point of view, if Pope Francis comes to India, it will be seen as Modi’s success, because Pope Francis has not yet visited India. In India, Christians often face accusations of religious conversion. In such a situation, their arrival in India can break many perceptions. India has made economic progress in the last few years. Relations with other countries of the world are also strengthening. The Pope’s visit to India will also send a message to the world.
The Pope is not only religious but also politically influential in European countries or Christian majority countries. In such a scenario, his visit to India will further enhance India’s global image. Also, the assembly elections are to be held in Kerala in 2026. The number of Christian voters in Kerala is 20 percent. In such a situation, if the Pope visits India, the BJP can gain its advantage in the Kerala elections. Also, his visit to India will send a message about how serious the Modi government is to the Christian community.
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