Pope Francis has ended his two-day visit to Egypt in which he sought to build bridges of friendship across the major faiths.
The Pontiff’s final outing was at Egypt’s Air Defence Stadium to conduct Mass, where he called on leaders of all faiths to reject religious violence and denounce intolerance.
Crowds were jubilant as the Pope entered the stadium, some dressed in costumes whilst others held up a life-size cardboard cut-out of the pontiff to demonstrate their affection.
Francis has used his trip to launch a strong appeal for freedom of religion and to accuse extremists of distorting the nature of God.
After the Mass, the pope will have lunch with Egyptian bishops and give a speech to local seminaries before heading back to Italy.
The pontiff’s visit comes three weeks after Islamic State militants killed at least 45 people in attacks on two Egyptian churches.
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