It remains a vivid memory for many in Bangladesh — the moment Pope Francis stepped off a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight into the bright November afternoon nearly eight years ago.
His historic three-day visit to this Muslim-majority country left a lasting impression, not just on its Christian minority, but across religious and cultural lines.
During his visit from November 30 to December 2, 2017, Pope Francis delivered powerful messages at the Holy Mass, met with youth, prayed with interfaith leaders, and offered heartfelt words to the persecuted Rohingya refugees. These moments still resonate with many.
On Monday, the Vatican announced the passing of Pope Francis at the age of 88, marking the end of an extraordinary earthly journey dedicated to service, compassion, and justice. His journey to eternity begins, accompanied by prayers from across the globe.
Pope Francis was the first sitting pontiff to visit Bangladesh since Pope John Paul II in 1986. His trip underscored the Vatican’s commitment to dialogue and inclusion in a nation where roughly 375,000 Catholics live among 170 million people, over 90% of whom are Muslims.
To Francis, Bangladesh was “Golden Bengal”—a land unified by rivers and enriched by its cultural diversity. He praised its tradition of interwoven faiths and communities.
“That natural beauty is symbolic of your particular identity as a people… No single community, nation, or state can survive and progress in isolation,” he said.
He referenced Bangladesh’s founding principles, stating that the nation’s first president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, envisioned a pluralistic and inclusive society where dignity and equality were safeguarded.
During his visit, Francis laid wreaths at the National Martyrs’ Memorial and at the home of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which had been turned into a museum to preserve the memories of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle. Bangabandhu was assassinated along with most of his family at this home in 1975.
Tragically, that same museum was destroyed earlier this year in a deliberate mob attack, months after the ousting of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangabandhu’s daughter.
In a deeply emotional moment, Francis had met a small group of Rohingya refugees at an interfaith event in Dhaka. Breaking diplomatic caution, he used the term “Rohingya”—a word he was advised not to utter during his prior stop in Myanmar, where the ethnic group is denied citizenship and labeled as outsiders.
“The presence of God is today also called Rohingya,” the Pope declared, urging the global community to act decisively against their persecution.
In a separate address to the priests and nuns, Francis compared the act of gossiping to terrorism.
“The enemy of harmony in a religious community is the spirit of gossip – it is a kind of terrorism,” the Pope said.
“It is just like the terrorists who don’t say I am a terrorist, but leave bombs behind. The other person then again spread the gossip,” the pope had told the crowd at a 16th century Portuguese church in central Dhaka.
At Notre Dame College, speaking to nearly 10,000 young people, Francis cautioned against isolationism saying, “Avoid the ‘my way or the highway’ mindset. Don’t close yourselves off from the world around you.”
Thousands of faithful—Christians and people from other faiths had gathered at Suhrawardy Udyan as Francis conducted a large open-air Mass and ordained new priests during his second day in Dhaka.
Riding in his open popemobile, he greeted crowds that continued to pour in even after the service began.
Before departing Dhaka, he left behind a final blessing for Bangladesh and its people. “Upon you, and upon all the people of Bangladesh, I willingly invoke the Almighty’s blessings of harmony and peace.”