Pope Francis visits Egypt

CAIRO: Pope Francis began a visit to Egypt on Friday to promote "unity and fraternity" among Muslims and the embattled Christian minority that has suffered a series of Jihadist attacks.

The 80-year-old pontiff touched down at Cairo airport before he was ushered in a car to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who welcomed him with a military brass band and priests lining up to greet the pope.

"It’s a journey of unity and fraternity. Less than two days but very intense," he said of the 27-hour trip before disembarking.

He will later meet Muslim and Christian leaders before visiting a church that was bombed in December.

That attack was followed by twin church bombings in April that killed 45 people, in the deadliest assault in recent memory on the Coptic Christian minority.

On Friday, Francis will also meet Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of the prestigious institution Al-Azhar, sealing a recent improvement in relations between Catholicism and the Islam.

"This meeting will be an example and a model for peace precisely because it will be a meeting of dialogue," Francis said on the plane.

Security will be extremely tight with Egypt under a state of emergency following the church bombings claimed by the Islamic State group.

On Friday, the head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics will walk with Coptic Pope Tawadros II to the church where a suicide bombing killed 29 people in December.

Police and soldiers stood guard outside the Vatican residence in Cairo on Friday and armoured cars were stationed outside the Coptic Orthodox Saint Mark’s Cathedral, which Francis will also visit.

All of the country’s churches have been placed under additional protection because of the risk of another assault timed to coincide with Francis being in the country.

Despite the dangers, Francis is expected to conduct most of his business in a normal vehicle and electric golf carts.

"Please pray for my journey tomorrow as a pilgrim of peace to Egypt," Francis said on his Twitter account on the eve of his departure.