Sri Lanka, April 22 -- The bells of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral rang 88 times on Monday (21), in a solemn tribute to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88.

A mass is also scheduled to be held at Notre Dame to honour the late pontiff.

In a further gesture of remembrance, city authorities switched off the lights of the Eiffel.

In the meantime, throngs of people are gathering at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican to pay tribute to the deceased pope.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hiru News....