Pope Francis heads to Egypt on 'mission of brotherhood'

The religious leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholic Christians will meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, before going on to speak at a conference at al-Azhar university.

In a video speech, delivered in Italian and translated into Arabic, the Pope expressed a message of "brotherhood and reconciliation with all the children of Abraham, particularly the Muslim world".

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will not be using a bulletproof car again during his visit, reportedly to feel closer to the crowds.

Prior to a visit to Rio de Janeiro, the Pope said he didn't like bulletproof limousines because they felt like "sardine cans".

"It's true that anything could happen, but let's face it, at my age I don't have much to lose," the Pope said.

One of the first engagements will be a meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of the al-Azhar mosque, who has recently been facing pressure from the Egyptian government to reform.

President Sisi has reportedly been pressuring the religious institution to change its theological stance in order to challenge Islamic extremism.

The Pope's visit coincides with a recent escalation in violence against the country's Christian population by Islamic extremists, including Islamic State.

Two large bombs, attributed to Islamic State, killed dozens of people in Tanta and Alexandria three weeks ago on Palm Sunday, a major Christian holiday. The pope's visit had been planned before these attacks.

The attacks followed a separate attack just before Christmas which left 28 people dead in December, and a spate of murders which caused many Christians to flee their homes.

The Pope called Egypt a "cradle of civilisation, gift of the Nile, land of sun and hospitality," adding that he wanted this visit to be a "hug of consolation and encouragement to all the Christians in the Middle East."