Pope Francis received a warm welcome upon his arrival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday (September 30). <br /> <br />The pope is visiting the former ex-Soviet country at an invitation from the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. <br /> <br />At the airport Pope Francis was welcomed by the country's President Georgy Margvelashvili, speaker of parliament David Usupashvili and Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II. <br /> <br />During his visit the pope is set to hold talks with the president and meet with representatives of civil society and diplomatic corps at the Presidential Palace. <br /> <br />Pope Francis later travels to the residence of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and rounds up his first day in Georgia with meeting members of the local Assyro-Chaldean community. <br /> <br />On Saturday (October 1) Pope Francis will hold a Holy Mass at a stadium in Tbilisi. <br /> <br />It is the first trip by Pope Francis to Georgia, but the second visit by the head of the Roman Catholic church - Pope John Paul II visited the small Caucasus country 17 years ago. <br /> <br />The Georgian population is 80 percent Orthodox Christians. <br /> <br />On Sunday (October 2) the pope will travel to Azerbaijan, where 95 percent of the population are Muslims.
