The Latest: Pope in Morocco highlights Christian-Muslim ties

RABAT, Morocco – The Latest on the Pope's trip to Morocco (all times local):

2:25 p.m.

Pope Francis has arrived in Morocco for a trip aimed at highlighting the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties, while also letting him show solidarity with migrants at Europe's door and tend to a tiny Catholic flock.

Francis will address the first two items Saturday, and the third when he wraps up the visit with a Mass and a meeting with Moroccan clergy on Sunday.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI was on hand to greet Francis when he landed under a pouring rain in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, for a 27-hour visit.

The highlight of the trip is likely to be Francis' visit Saturday to the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams that epitomizes Morocco's efforts to promote a moderate brand of Islam and export it via preachers to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

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10 a.m.

Pope Francis's weekend trip to Morocco aims to highlight the North African nation's tradition of Christian-Muslim ties while also letting him show solidarity with migrants at Europe's door and tend to a tiny Catholic flock on the peripheries.

Francis will address the first two items on the agenda Saturday when he begins his 27-hour visit to Rabat, the Moroccan capital. He'll tend to the third when he wraps up the visit with a Mass and a meeting with Moroccan clergy on Sunday.

The highlight of the trip is likely to be Francis' visit Saturday to the Mohammed VI Institute, a school of learning for imams that epitomizes Morocco's efforts to promote a moderate brand of Islam and export it via preachers to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Morocco, a Sunni Muslim kingdom of 36 million, reformed its religious policies and education to limit the spread of fundamentalism in 2004, following terrorist bombings in Casablanca that killed 43 people.