Pope Francis to celebrate Mass in Cairo on 2nd day of trip

Pope Francis will celebrate Mass for Egypt’s tiny Catholic community and meet with its priests and seminarians before returning to Rome. (Photo: Martin Schulz/Flickr)

CAIRO — Pope Francis will celebrate Mass for Egypt’s tiny Catholic community and meet with its priests and seminarians before returning to Rome.

Local media reports say at least 25,000 are expected at Saturday’s Mass in Cairo, which comes on the second day of Francis’ two-day trip to the Arab world’s most populous country

Francis on Friday urged Egypt’s Muslim leaders teach a rejection of violence in God’s name during the delicate visit and he strongly backed its uncompromising crackdown on political Islam and militancy.

His main event was a landmark visit to Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the revered, 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world. He also met with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.