Pope Francis arrives in Sri Lanka

Pope Francis arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for a historic two day visit focused on promoting reconciliation in the island troubled by ethnic divisions.

The pope was welcomed by newly elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the international airport a few minutes ago.

He will now be escorted in a special procession to Colombo with all citizens eagerly witnessing the event. Sri Lanka has 1.2 million Catholics.

Pope Francis is the first foreign dignitary in Sri Lanka after presidential elections last Thursday ousted former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa invited the Pope last year before controversially calling for snap presidential elections on Nov. 20 seeking an unprecedented third term in power. He was also accused by members of the catholic community for using the Pope's visit to score brownie points during the election campaign.

However, he was unexpectedly beaten by his former Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena who crossed over to the opposition.

Sirisena took oaths on Friday and swore in a Cabinet on Monday. "We will put in strict security measures for the visit to ensure everything proceeds smoothly,"Police spokesman Ajith Rohana told reporters.

Workers are also putting the finishing touches to a giant open air chapel along Colombo iconic shoreline Galle Face and hotels have been earmarked for hundreds of foreign journalists expected with the Pope.

The main mass will be held at the Galle Face Green in Colombo and a public holiday has been declared on Wednesday.

This is the second visit of a pope to Sri Lanka. Pope Francis will also be the first pope to visit the once war-torn northern regions of the country in a gesture that is expected to improve reconciliation between the minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese.

He will also declare Sri Lanka's first saint. Endi