Meeting with Five Popes - Three of them now Saints!

 I was very fortunate to have met six Popes during my life in the church - Starting with Pope John XXIII who came to Propaganda College for his last Birthday. Being a new student to Propaganda Fide College just a week ago, they gave me a first row seat to be closest to the Pope. 

His successor Pope Paul VI elected in March 1963, visited us students in Castel Gandolfo Holiday house gardens next to his, on the 15th of August each year. we students entertained him with songs from different countries. On the 15th August 1966 I received my sub-diaconate in the morning mass. In the evening when he visited us, he gave me a copy of the New Testament.

Pope John Paul was pope only for a month. But I went Vatican for the wednesday audience and met him. But he died shortly after.

1983 was my sabbatical year at the University of Muenster in Germany. In June  I went to Muenschen for the Katholikentag opening ceremony at the Marian Square. Bavarias Chief minister and Cardinal Ratzinger were on stage. When Card. Ratzinger got up to speak, there was a big long banner raised up behind me in protest against, Ratyingers Instruction against the Liberation Theology of South America. Next morning flew to Rome. Bishop Deogupillai told me that they were having an audience with Pope John Paul II. I joined with Frs Karunaharar and Devarajah. when I met the Pope I spoke to him in German telling him that I was in Munchen the previous evening and saw Card. Ratzinger. He responded to me in German. 

His successor was Pope Benedict XVI, whom I have met as Cardinal Ratzinger, the German theologian in charge of the Congregation for Faith. When I was serving as an Asian theological advisor for the FABC, he had suspicious eyes cast over me. He was not pleased with my demands as an Asian theologian. I explained my position even when Rome sent me 8 quetions about my talk in Hua Hin, Thailand to the meeting between asian theologians and the Roman curia team led by Cardinal Arinze. I was not excommunicated but kept under theological suspicion!

The present Pope Francis, I am most happy with. I met him twice - one during the commemmoration of the Catecomb pact in Rome in 2015. Again on my golded jubilee of my prieshood on 16.12.2016 I concelebrated mass in the Vatican Mathas chapel with Pope presideng and 12 of us concelebrating. After mass he met eaach one us in audience. I had written a 2 page letter in Italian and given him explaining my position in exile, thanking him fo rhis visit to Madhu. He advised me to return to Sri Lanka and work for reconciliation which I am doing