Pope wraps up his Asia trip

(Washington D.C.) [United States], Dec.2 (ANI): Pope Francis has wrapped up his three-day trip to Asia by visiting a Bangladeshi orphanage and home for the disabled run by Mother Teresa's order.

The Pope also went to a meeting with Bangladeshi priests and nuns, reported Fox news.

Speaking to the congregation at the Chittagong's Holy Rosary Church, Francis said that he was dumping the eight-page speech he had prepared and would speak to them from the heart instead.

According to the reports, the Pope also attended a youth rally before boarding the plane for the flight back to Rome

The trip also saw the pontiff, who maintained public silence over the Rohingya refugee crisis while in Myanmar, address the issue head-on in Bangladesh with an emotional encounter with refugees themselves.

The Pope told a group of 16 refugees, "The presence of God today is also called Rohingya."

He also sought for "forgiveness" from them.

"In the name of all of those who have persecuted you, hurt you, I ask forgiveness. I appeal to your large hearts to give us the forgiveness that we are asking," he said.

The Pope returns to Rome on Saturday having led well-attended open-air masses in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which both have small Christian populations. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI