Pope Francis paid a surprise visit to a Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Throughout his trip to the nation, the pontiff urged crowds that all religions must work together to help Sri Lanka recover from long periods of violent conflict.

Father Federico Lombardi, a spokesman for the Vatican, said that Pope Francis visited Colombo's Mahabodhi temple to meet Banagila Upatissa, a Buddhist leader. Upatissa extended an invitation to the pope during inter-religious meeting that occurred previously.

As monks were praying and singing in the temple, Lombardi said that "the pope listened with great respect" as the monks were singing and praying, Lombardi said. He said that in honor of the occasion, the monks opened a container holding Buddhist relics that is normally unsealed only once a year.

Since being appointed, Pope Francis has urged the world's different faiths to work together towards admirable goals. Francis has already visited mosquese in Istanbul and Jerusalem.

During his voyage to Sri Lanka, whose citizenry is predominantly of Buddhist faith, Pope Francis stated that religion should play a key role in helping the nation from recovering from a decades-long civil war that only ended in 2009 and resulted in the deaths of thousands.

He also named Joseph Vaz, a 17th missionary, a saint, giving Sri Lanka its first. Pope Francis cited Vaz as a ideal symbol and example of religious tolerance. 

During his trip, Francis also visited a shrine that is home to a 400 year old statue of the Virgin Mary. The site is so popular, in fact, that it is also frequented by people of other faiths, as well as Catholics. 

The Vatican stated that former Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who initially extended the invitation to the pope but was removed from office a week ago during an election, spoke with the pontiff over the phone to welcome him to the nation.

Considering the religion-connected violence that has occurred in Paris in recent days, a positive religious message of peace and tolerance is just what many people needed.