Pope embarks on tour of Orthodox Georgia and Muslim Azerbaijan

Pope Francis in Georgia

Today the Pope embarks on a three-day visit to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The visit to Georgia heralds a breakthrough in Orthodox-Catholic relations.

When Pope St John Paul II visited the former Soviet Republic in 1999, the Georgian Orthodox Church advised believers to shun the public Mass the Pope celebrated in Tbilisi.

In contrast, a group from the Georgian Orthodox Church are expected at the Papal Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in Tbilisi on Saturday morning.

His visit has been welcomed by the Georgian Orthodox Patriarch Ilia who reproached a handful of conservative Orthodox believers for protesting against the Papal visit outside the Vatican Embassy in Tbilisi last week.

From Tbilisi, the Pope will fly on Sunday to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a country where less than one percent of the population is Catholic. Of those, some 15,000 are foreign but interfaith relations are positive in this largely Shia Muslim nation, where the Pope will meet the Sheik of Caucasus Muslims, representatives of Azeri Jews and delegates representing other religious communities. Pope St John Paul II also visited Azerbaijan in 2002.