Pope Francis is starting a three-day trip to Bulgaria and North Macedonia, in which he is expected to make fresh overtures towards Orthodox Christians and pay tribute to Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
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In a Saturday tweet, the pontiff said he was embarking on the journey on Sunday "as a pilgrim of peace and fraternity".
In Sofia, the Pope is scheduled to meet the leader of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Neophyte, and pray at the Orthodox Cathedral. However, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has ruled out interfaith prayers or services.
On Monday, the Pope will visit a refugee camp and travel to Rakovski, about 160 kilometres southeast of Sofia, for Mass and a First Communion service for more than 200 children, before returning to the capital to take part in interfaith peace prayers.
His Tuesday engagements in Skopje, North Macedonia, include a visit to a shrine to Mother Teresa, who was born in the city in 1910, and meetings with poor people looked after by Teresa's Missionaries of Charity nuns.
Pope Francis elevated Mother Teresa to sainthood in 2016.
Bulgaria and North Macedonia, located in the Balkans, are among Europe's poorest nations, and have tiny Catholic communities. North Macedonia has recently settled a name dispute with Greece and hopes to make progress towards EU and NATO membership.
Francis is the second pope to visit Bulgaria after John Paul II in 2002, while a papal visit is a novelty for North Macedonia. Francis will arrive in Skopje two days after a national presidential election run-off.
Australian Associated Press