Pope Francis has called for "healing and unity" as he arrived in Colombo at the start of a five-day tour of Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
This is his second visit to Asia in six months signifying the importance the Vatican places on the region, even though the Catholic community of Sri Lanka is just 6% of the population.
The Pontiff's visit will highlight a message of reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist and the minority Tamil Hindu communities following three decades of civil war.
The Sri Lankan government has refused to co-operate with a UN investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the conflict following a report which claimed 40,000 civilians were killed. Both sides are accused of human-rights violations.
On his arrival at Bandaranaike airport the Pope said: "The process of healing also needs to include the pursuit of truth. Not for the sake of opening old wounds, but rather as a necessary means of promoting justice, healing and unity."
Sri Lanka's religious and ethnic unity has been challenged over recent years as Buddhist fundamentalism and intolerance of minority Muslims in the south has grown.
Sri Lanka's new president Maithripala Sirisena has capitalised on the unpopularity of his predecessor among various ethnic groups and has promised to end repression of religious minorities.
The Pontiff is expected to travel to the north, a region which saw some of the fiercest fighting between rebel Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan army.
He will also visit the Our Lady of Madhu shrine, revered by both Sinhalese and Hindus.
From Sri Lanka the Pope will travel to the Philippines, Asia's largest catholic country, where he will deliver a service in the capital Manila that could be attended by six million people; the largest gathering in the world.
He will also travel to Tacloban, the city devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 which killed almost 7,500 people. There he will meet survivors and offer prayers for the victims.
Pope Paul VI was stabbed in the stomach and neck on his visit to the country in 1970 by a would be assassin dressed as a priest.
A week before Pope John Paul II's visit in 1995 authorities discovered a plot by Muslim extremists to kill him.
This year the government is taking no chances and has deployed 40,000 security personnel for the visit.
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