Pope prays ahead of Lesbos refugees trip

(ANSA) - Rome, April 14 - Pope Francis visited Rome's Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral on Thursday evening to pray to the Virgin Mary ahead of his trip to Lesbos in support of refugees, Vatican press chief Father Federico Lombardi made known. The pope asked for the Virgin's protection and offered her a bunch of blue and white roses to symbolize the Greek colors.
    During his weekly general audience yesterday, Francis said he was making the trip on Saturday to "express my closeness and solidarity both to the refugees and to the citizens of Lesbos and the whole of the Greek people, who have been so generous in receiving (asylum seekers)".
    Lesbos and the Italian island of Lampedusa are the first landfall for people fleeing war zones in Africa and the Middle East.