Pope in Azerbaijan (Live)

On Sunday morning the Pope Francis arrived from Tbilisi to Baku. The visit to Azerbaijan began with the Pope’s Mass in the metropolitan church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the afternoon, the Pope is scheduled to meet with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and with the  head of the Office of Caucasus Muslims, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Jewish community, the press service of the Vatican.

Before the visit the Pope appealed to the Azerbaijani people with the message: "I'm talking with Azerbaijanis of the truth  that I have seen, that  I feel. I had previously met and spoke with the president of Azerbaijan. I will also say the Azerbaijanis, that  absence of peace on a small plot of land is dark matter. And I   say to all: the Armenians, Azerbaijanis. Perhaps they cannot agree on the way to the world, but they need to work on that. I will say what will be at this point in my heart, it is necessary to try to find a solution that would allow to move forward. "

Among people accompanying the Pope at Mass present about 40 priests from other countries who came to the meeting with Francis. Cathedral of the Virgin Mary, which accommodates 300 worshipers  is overcrowded.