Romanians Welcome Pope With Cheers and Greetings

Pope Francis arrived on Friday in Romania for a historic three-day visit between May 31 and June 2.

The head of the Catholic Church was welcomed at the main airport by Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and his wife along with Romanian Orthodox clerics, officials and hundreds of people with messages of greeting.

"It is a great pleasure to have you on Romanian soil," President Iohannis told Francis.

People gathered at the airport showed messages of welcome and support for Pope Francis in both Romanian and Italian.

After the welcoming ceremony, Iohannis and Pope Francis left for official talks at the Cotroceni Palace, the presidential residence.

On their way, on the main streets of Bucharest, thousands of people cheered the papal visitor.

To avoid the busy traffic, all schools and kindergartens were closed on Friday and traffic restrictions applied, especially in the city centre, around St Joseph's Catholic Cathedral, where the Pontiff will preside at a liturgy.

During the afternoon, the organizers put in place a show in Revolution Square, which Pope Francis was due to attend.

The programme for Friday included a meeting of the Pope with the Prime Minister, Viorica Dancila, and the head of the main church in the country, the Romanian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniel, for a common service of prayer.

Besides Bucharest, the visit on Saturday will include a visit to Sumuleu Ciuc, the biggest annual gathering of Catholics in Romania, in the centre of the country. The event is organized by the Catholic Church, and it is attended especially by ethnic Hungarians in Romania. Over 100,000 believers attend annual ceremonies there.

From there, the Pope will fly to the biggest city in the eastern Moldovan region,Iasi, to...