Pope Francis calls for reconciliation in visit to Sri Lanka's former war zone

Pope Francis became the first pontiff to visit the former war-torn northern region of Sri Lanka when he conducted a sermon on Wednesday to bless thousands and call for reconciliation.

On his second day, the Pope flew by helicopter to historically sacred Madhu shrine in the north-western Mannar region, which operated as a neutral zone for thousands of refugees during Sri Lanka's three-decade war with Tamil separatists.

In 1999, shelling killed 40 Tamil people who had sought refuge in the church and provoked global condemnation.

During the worst of the fighting in 2008, the sacred statue of Mother Mary had to be removed from the church for safety. It has since been returned and greets devotees from behind a bullet-proof glass box.

Many hope that the Pope's visit will provide impetus to reconciliation between the Tamil minority and Sinhalese majority in the country.

"Only when we come to understand, in the light of the cross, the evil we are capable of and have even been a part of, can we experience true remorse and true repentance," he said after setting free a dove in a sign of peace.

"Only then can we receive the grace to approach one another in true contrition, offering and seeking true forgiveness."

The Pope has made reconciliation his key message during the two- day visit that will wrap up on Thursday morning. "There are families here today which suffered greatly in the long conflict," he said. "Many people, from north and south alike, were killed in the terrible violence and bloodshed of those years. " "No Sri Lankan can forget the tragic events associated with this very place...Here, in (the sanctuary), they feel safe," he added.

Earlier in the day, over 500,000 people flocked to the shoreline of Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo to witness Pope Francis declaring the country's first saint.

At a special beachfront mass, the Pope declared Indian-born priest Joseph Vaz as the country's first saint as millions more of all faiths tuned in on the live broadcast.

The emotional mass was seen as the highlight of Pope Francis's two day visit that kicked off on Tuesday with the message of reconciliation reiterated by the pontiff. "Each individual must be free, alone or in association with others, to seek the truth, and to openly express his or her religious convictions, free from intimidation," he said.

The Pope also described the freedom to follow a religion of choice a fundamental right and called on the 1.2 million catholic community of Sri Lanka to learn lessons of hard work, faith and steadfastness from their freshly canonized saint. "Like ourselves, Saint Joseph Vaz lived in a period of rapid and profound transformation," the pope told the crowd.

Of late, Sri Lanka has been struggling to promote reconciliation between its majority Sinhalese Buddhists and minority Tamils after a near three-decade war with separatist Tamil Tigers ended in 2009.

The Pope will visit the Philippines for the second leg of his second Asian tour. Endi