Pope Francis will depart from Rome for his trip to Cyprus and Greece on Thursday morning.
The Pope will spend two days in Cyprus. On Thursday he will meet with the country's political leaders, and on Friday he will visit members of the Cyprus Orthodox Church, and celebrate Mass in a sports arena.
There he will meet with a group of migrants, and is expected to offer a number of asylum seekers on the island refuge in Italy.
Leaders also hope the Pope's visit will prompt renewed dialogue in resolving the situation of Maronite Catholic communities who were forced out of their homes when Turkey invaded the northern third of the island in 1974.
FR. GEORGIOS ARAMAND HOURY
Cypriot priest
'The Maronites hope that the word of the Holy Father will help them reach any solution to the political problem to allow them to return to their four villages.'
On Saturday morning, Pope Francis will continue onto Greece, where Catholics comprise less than 1% of the country's population, and 90% identify as Greek Orthodox.
The most anticipated part of his visit to Greece will take place Sunday morning, when the Pope will fly to Lesbos to visit the largest refugee camp in Europe. He previously visited the small island in 2016.
POPE FRANCIS
Apr. 16, 2016
'The worries expressed by institutions and people, both in Greece and in other European countries, are understandable and legitimate. We must never forget, however, that migrants, rather than simply being a statistic, are first of all persons who have faces, names and individual stories.'
Monday morning will see the Pope meet with young people at a Catholic school in Athens, before leaving for Rome that afternoon.
JM
