Pope Francis to visit Greece

Greek officials say the Pope is to visit Lesbos, the Aegean island where hundreds of thousands of refugees have arrived.

Pope Francis will visit Greece this month to get a first-hand look at the front line of Europe's migrant crisis and thousands of refugees fleeing conflict.

The Holy Synod, the ruling body of the Greek Orthodox Church, said in a statement on Tuesday it wanted the pontiff to visit Lesbos, the Aegean island where hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants have arrived in the past year.

Confirming the visit, a Greek government official said Francis would be accompanied to Lesbos by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians.

"The Greek government will welcome Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as valuable supporters and friends in the struggle to offer refugees some relief," the official said.

The Greek Church said the pope had expressed a wish to make a visit to draw attention to conflict in the wider Mediterranean area "which has a detrimental effect on Christian communities, but also to highlight the humanitarian problem caused by desperate refugees who are seeking a better future in Europe".

Two Vatican officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been discussions between the two churches about a papal visit to the island, but that no date had been set.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said he could neither confirm nor deny that the Pope would go.