Pope Francis to Head to Cyprus on Thursday

Pope Francis is set to head, today, Thursday, to Cyprus as part of a landmark trip.

The pontiff, 84, has two key features to his visit to the country: the plight of migrants and inter-confessional dialogue.

He is set to arrive Thursday at Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island for a two-day visit before continuing to Greece, another front in Europe's refugee crisis.

Cypriot authorities have described the trip as "historic".

The pontiff will be the second Catholic pontiff to set foot on Cyprus, which has a Greek Orthodox majority. Pope Benedict XVI visited in 2010.

More than 500 Cypriot police will be on duty to secure the visit.

Pope Francis a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential Palace on Thursday evening.

Moreover, he will hold on Friday afternoon an ecumenical prayer with migrants at a church that serves worshippers from dozens of nations near the "Green Line" that splits the city.

The pontiff is also set to meet the Orthodox bishops of Cyprus at the Archbishop's Palace in Nicosia's Old City close to the UN-patrolled buffer zone piding north and south.