Myanmar is gearing up for the arrival of Pope Francis on Monday afternoon, although at first glance around the cities of Yangon and the capital Nay Pyi Taw shows few signs of any major preparations. One or two isolated posters and billboards can be spotted around the central of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Yangon and in the neighboring of archbishop’s house where the Pope will be staying for the duration of this three day visit. The other Catholic parishes have been preparing for this first ever papal visit to the largely Buddhist nation.
Formally, there has been a good cooperation with the Myanmar authorities in planning of this papal visit, though everyone is on tenterhooks over the crisis in northern Rakhine state. Organizers are seeking to shine the light on the many other refugee problems that still plague this nation, made up of over 130 different ethnic minorities especially the “Rohingya Muslims”. The expectations are sky-high among these Christians communities, they hope that Pope Francis can miraculously bring the civil war to an end, by encouraging the military members and the various independent armies to respect one another for Myanmar to be more develop and improve their living standards.
