On the eve of his visit to Morocco at the invitation of King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, Pope Francis expressed, on Thursday, his thanks to the Sovereign for this ‘gracious’ invitation. In a video message to the Moroccan people, Pope Francis says he is coming to the Kingdom as a “pilgrim of peace and brotherhood, in a world that greatly needs it”. Pope Francis who had backed the United Nations Global Compact for Migration signed in Marrakech last December, will on Saturday meet migrants and deliver a speech at the Caritas Diocesan Centre. In this connection, Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, highlighted the symbolism of the meeting between King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful, and Pope Francis, scheduled for Saturday. “The Pope comes to a country where the head of State has a special religious status and is not only Commander of Muslims.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 28, 2019 19:18 UTC