(AP)Pope Francis arrived in North Macedonia on Tuesday for the first-ever papal visit to the Balkan nation, seeking to encourage the recently renamed country to press ahead with efforts to integrate with European institutions. He is due to address government authorities and then pray at the memorial of perhaps North Macedonia's most famous native, Mother Teresa. Viktor Dimovski, North Macedonia's foreign ministry state secretary, told reporters on Monday that the visit was historic and comes at a crucial moment as North Macedonia seeks entry into the European Union and NATO. North Macedonia's previous constitutional name was the Republic of Macedonia. Francis is likely to encourage the process of integration, as well as North Macedonia's inter-ethnic and interfaith coexistence.

Source: The Telegraph May 07, 2019 07:52 UTC