Pope Francis landed in the Egyptian capital on Friday to promote dialogue with Muslims and support the country's embattled Christians who have suffered a series of jihadist attacks.

He is scheduled to head from Cairo airport to meetings with Muslim and Christian leaders before visiting a church that had been bombed in December.

Francis, who will lead a mass on Saturday, had said that he hoped his 27-hour visit would support the region's Christians and send a "message of brotherhood" to Muslims.