Sri Lankan Catholics welcomed the recent announcement of a visit by Pope Francis planned for January, a church official said Wednesday, according to dpa reports.
"We are preparing for the visit," said Reverend Cyril Gamini, spokesman for the country's Catholic Church.
The pope was to visit from January 13 to 15, although the details of the schedule were yet to be finalized, said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, in an earlier statement.
The country's Catholic Church and government have appealed for the pope to visit after fighting between government troops and Tamil rebels ended in 2009.
It would be the third papal visit after Pope John Paul II in 1995 and Pope Paul VI in 1997.
Sri Lanka has 6 per cent of Catholics, of a population of 20 million.
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