India News | .THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/NEWDELHI MDS18 KL-PM-POPE-INVITE Modi Will Again Send Invitation to Pope Francis to Visit India: Bishop's Body

Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will again send an invitation to Pope Francis to visit India as he was keen to bring the Catholic church head to the country, a Bishop's body said on Wednesday.

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Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) president Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, who met the Prime Minister to convey to him the Christmas greetings on behalf of the Catholic church, said he repeated the request of former CBCI president, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, to invite Pope Francis to India.

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CBCI is the apex body of Catholic Bishops' in the country.

"PM replied to him saying that he had already invited Pope Francis to India and had reiterated to him again personally when he met Pope Francis at the Vatican on October 31, 2021. The PM said that he would continue to invite Pope Francis and try to bring him to India,'' a CBCI release said.

Last year, the Prime Minister had met Pope Francis in the Vatican and tweeted pictures of him embracing the head of the Roman Catholic church.

"Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India," Modi had tweeted after the historic meeting with the Pontiff.

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