Francis said the main reasons for the trip -- billed a "pilgrimage of prayer" by the Vatican -- were to meet with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I and "to pray for peace in that land which has suffered so much".
The visit kicks off on Saturday when Francis flies to Amman and meets Syrian refugees. He will then travel on to Bethlehem, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, wrapping up the visit on Monday with a mass in the place where Christians believe Jesus had the last supper with his disciples.
Francis will meet with all the main Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian leaders but only briefly and there has been opposition from ultra-orthodox Jews over perceived Vatican designs on holy sites in Jerusalem.
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