Pope Francis received a warm welcome upon his arrival in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Friday (September 30).

The pope is visiting the former ex-Soviet country at an invitation from the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II.

At the airport Pope Francis was welcomed by the country's President Georgy Margvelashvili, speaker of parliament David Usupashvili and Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II.

During his visit the pope is set to hold talks with the president and meet with representatives of civil society and diplomatic corps at the Presidential Palace.

Pope Francis later travels to the residence of Catholicos-Patriarch Ilia II and rounds up his first day in Georgia with meeting members of the local Assyro-Chaldean community.

On Saturday (October 1) Pope Francis will hold a Holy Mass at a stadium in Tbilisi.

It is the first trip by Pope Francis to Georgia, but the second visit by the head of the Roman Catholic church - Pope John Paul II visited the small Caucasus country 17 years ago.

The Georgian population is 80 percent Orthodox Christians.

On Sunday (October 2) the pope will travel to Azerbaijan, where 95 percent of the population are Muslims.