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Confirmed: Pope Francis to visit Switzerland in June

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Confirmed: Pope Francis to visit Switzerland in June
Pope Francis in Rome on February 25. Photo; AFP

Pope Francis is to visit Geneva on June 21, Swiss authorities confirmed on Wednesday.

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Pope Francis will meet a Swiss government delegation headed up by Swiss President Alain Berset for official talks, authorities confirmed to the SDA/ATS news agency.

The Pope has also been invited to visit to the World Council of Churches (WCC) headquarters in Geneva to participate in talks on a WCC peace initiative for Syria.

Founded in 1948, the WCC has 348 members around the world including most of the world's Orthodox churches, scores of Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, as well as many United and Independent churches.

While the Roman Catholic Church is not a member, it does send observers to WCC meetings.

The last papal visit to Geneva was in 1984 during a six-day pastoral visit to the country.

A total of 38.2 percent of Swiss people are Roman Catholic while 26.9 percent belong to the mainstream Protestant church, according to official Swiss figures. 

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