Vatican City: Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus today paid tribute to the late Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. The mortal remains of Pope Francis were lying in state ahead of Saturday’s funeral.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, His Most Reverend Eminence Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City, offered an official greeting to Chief Adviser Yunus and the Bangladesh delegation at St. Peter Square. On Saturday, around 9:30 am, Prof Yunus is scheduled to return to St. Peter Square to join the Funeral Mass of His Holiness Pope Francis. The late Pope Francis was an admirer of Prof Yunus’s work for marginalized communities worldwide and his vision for a ‘Three Zero World’ characterized by no unemployment, no poverty, and zero carbon emissions.
The Vatican, in collaboration with Prof Yunus, launched a joint Three Zero Initiative in Rome, as stated by Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder to BSS. Chief Adviser Prof Yunus arrived in Rome this afternoon to attend the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis. He reached Rome at approximately 2:15 pm (Italy time), where he was received by the Bangladesh Ambassador to Italy and the Bangladesh Ambassador to Vatican City.
Earlier in the day, Prof Yunus departed Qatar for the Vatican City at around 9:25 am (12:25 pm Bangladesh Standard Time) to pay his last respects to Pope Francis. Ibrahim bin Yousif Abdullah Fakhroo, Chief of Protocol of the State of Qatar, saw him off at Hamad International Airport in Doha.
Following the funeral of Pope Francis, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus is expected to leave Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at approximately 8:00 am (12:00 pm Bangladesh Standard Time) on Sunday and is anticipated to return home in the early hours of Monday.