Pope Francis’s visit to Bangladesh “was a celebration of our cultural identity, of harmony, of diversity, and peace,” according to the country’s first cardinal.

Card. Patrick D’Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka, was in neighbouring India this week, on a family visit in Kolkata. During his stay, he spoke to Crux.

D’Rozario was created a cardinal by Francis on November 19, 2016.

“The expectations of the people – of everyone – was fulfilled: The Catholics, people of other denominations and other faiths, and of the government. All were actively involved in the preparation and participation, and God has done, providentially, much more than what we had planned.” The pope visited Bangladesh from Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2017, following his Nov. 27-30 visit to Myanmar.

Besides sharing a border, the two countries are also intertwined with the ongoing Rohingya crisis. Over 500,000 of Myanmar’s Muslim minori-ty have fled to Bangladesh since August, creating a dire huma-nitarian situation.

There are only about 350,000 Catholics in Bangladesh, about 0.2% of the total population. The country is over 86% Muslim, while another 12% is Hindu. Among the events Francis attended during his visit to the country was an interfaith meeting, where he met with members of the Rohingya community.

“The Christians in particular were very, very happy,” the cardinal said.

“They got to see the pope close up at all of the four big events, and so many could – unexpectedly – touch the pope, and this for them was a blessing and grace-filled moment.”