Francis

During his first visit to Northern Macedonia, Pope Francis tried to encourage their efforts to integrate into the European institutions after the name change decides the decades-long dispute with Greece, BTA reported.

The visit of Pope Francis has become an occasion for all kinds of discussions.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Rousse, Naum, comments on Pope's visit to Bulgaria

Pope Francis made the first-ever papal visit to North Macedonia on Tuesday and sought to encourage its efforts to integrate into European institutions after its name change resolved a decades-long dispute with Greece.

After being greeted by the country's leaders at the presidential palace on Tuesday, the Pope visited the memorial house of the Skopje-born Catholic nun Mother Teresa in the centre of the capital, where he was greeted by the country's religious leaders and held a short prayer.

Pope Francis was seen off by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at a farewell ceremony at the Government terminal at Sofia airport, Focus News Agency reports. Members of the National Guards Unit also took part in the official ceremony. The head of the Roman Catholic Church then boarded the Al-Italy aircraft along with the Vatican delegation.

After a tightly-packed three-day programme, Pope Francis left Bulgaria on Tuesday morning with a call for the country to continue "building peace and bridges" with its neighbours.

"Keep building peace, sow goodness," the pontiff told Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who saw him off as he departed for North Macedonia for the next leg of his Balkan trip.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church was greeted by the president and prime minister of North Macedonia, Djordje Ivanov and Zoran Zaev, and other representatives of the government and the city of Skopje.

Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will send Pope Francis to Sofia Airport today (7 May), which marks the end of the apostolic journey of the Holy Father in Bulgaria.

From Sofia, the head of the Roman Catholic Church goes to Skopje.

Tomorrow morning Pope Francis will travel from Bulgaria to Northern Macedonia. About the moods in Skopje in the expectation of the Holy Father tells Eliana Dimitrova, journalist from the BNT. 

Tomorrow at noon at Macedonia Square in Skopje Pope Francis will serve the Holy Mass. About 15,000 people are expected to attend, not only from Macedonia, but from Croatia, Albania, Kosovo.

The meeting between Pope Francis and the Catholic community in Bulgaria began. It is held in the neighborhood of Sekirovo in Rakovski - in the church "St. Archangel Michael". Thousands have arrived today in the small town to see the Holy Father during his apostolic visit to Bulgaria.