Pope Francis visits Morocco

Pope Francis greets French monk Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher in Rabat, Morocco, 31 MarchImage copyright
EPA

Image caption

Pope Francis greeted Father Jean-Pierre Schumacher, who survived a massacre of Trappist monks by Islamists in Algeria in 1996.

Pope Francis has visited Morocco on his latest trip to a predominantly Muslim state.

He met migrants and Muslim leaders, and held a Mass for the country’s small Roman Catholic community.

Pope Francis at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Centre in Rabat, 31 MarchImage copyright
AFP

The Pope said Mass in a sports centre in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Sunday.

Worshippers at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Centre in Rabat, 31 MarchImage copyright
AFP

Delighted worshippers thronged the cathedral.

Pope Francis in Rabat's cathedral, Morocco, 31 MarchImage copyright
EPA

Speaking in Rabat’s cathedral, the pontiff warned Catholics against trying to convert people to their own belief, saying this “always leads to an impasse”.

“Please, no proselytising,” he told the audience.

Pope Francis greets children during his visit to a centre run by the Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas, which hosts migrants, in the Moroccan capital Rabat, 30 MarchImage copyright
AFP

On Saturday the Pope met migrants when he visited a centre run by the Catholic humanitarian organisation Caritas.

“The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers,” he had said in a speech earlier.

Pope Francis shakes the hand of King Mohammed VI of Morocco in Rabat, 30 MarchImage copyright
AFP

On Saturday, the Pope was welcomed to Morocco by King Mohammed VI.

All photographs subject to copyright.

source: bbc.com