India's Modi invites pope to visit after 2017 plan collapsed

ROME — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi connected Saturday invited Pope Francis to sojourn the country, extending an authoritative opening aft plans for a 2017 papal sojourn fell apart.

Modi made the invitation Saturday during an unusually long, 55-minute assemblage with Francis astatine the Vatican. Modi is successful Rome for the Group of 20 summit.

There are astir 18 cardinal Catholics successful India, a tiny number successful the mostly Hindu federation of 1.3 billion. Modi’s hard-line, Hindu nationalist authorities was returned to powerfulness for a 2nd word successful 2019.

“Had a precise lukewarm gathering with Pope Francis,” Modi tweeted. “I had the accidental to sermon a wide scope of issues with him and besides invited him to sojourn India.”

The overseas ministry spokesman, Arindam Bagchi, tweeted the invitation was to travel sojourn “at an aboriginal date.”

The Vatican’s authoritative communique said lone that Modi’s sojourn with the Vatican’s caput of authorities was little and that “the cordial relations betwixt the Holy See and India were discussed.” It made nary notation of the invitation oregon of the contented of Modi’s gathering with the pontiff.

Francis had hoped to sojourn India and Bangladesh successful 2017. After negotiations with the Indian authorities dragged on, Francis went alternatively to Bangladesh and Myanmar. Upon his instrumentality to Rome from that trip, Francis acknowledged helium had wanted to spell to India but that “procedures became protracted, and clip was pressing.”

But helium said it was really “providential” due to the fact that “visiting India requires 1 journey: you indispensable spell to the south, to the center, to the east, to the west, to the northbound for the divers cultures of India.”

He said astatine the clip that helium hoped to spell successful 2018 “if I’m inactive alive!”

Modi’s gathering Saturday with Francis — which the Vatican closed to autarkic media, citing coronavirus restrictions — appeared lukewarm based connected Vatican photographs Modi tweeted showing the 2 men embracing connected respective occasions.

During the encounter, Modi gave Francis a metallic candelabra and a book, “The Climate Climb: India’s strategy, actions and achievements.” Francis gave Modi a postulation of his main teaching documents and a bronze medallion featuring a histrion and the words successful Italian “The godforsaken volition go a garden.”

Hussain reported from Srinagar, India.