Pope Francis to visit refugees on Greek island of Lesbos

Pope Francis is travelling to the Greek island of Lesbos - where countless refugees have passed through on their way to mainland Europe over the last few years, many not surviving the journey.

Land plots on Lesbos are dotted with hundreds of unidentified graves.

The pope has often defended refugees and urged Catholic parishes in Europe to host them.

He will visit Moria, a sprawling, fenced complex holding more than 3,000 refugees since the European Union and Turkey reached a deal last month to stem the flow. Many at Moria will be sent back to Turkey if asylum applications are rejected.

Volunteers say the pending visit of the religious leaders triggered a massive clean-up.

Several dozen people have been transferred to a nearby camp the pope will not see, walls have been repaired and painted and tables and chairs set up. Journalists have been barred from entering.

Healing wounds

Pope Francis is not only raising the plight of refugees on his visit; he will also be trying to build bridges with the head of the world's Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew.

Theological differences and historical circumstances caused the Great Schism of 1054, splitting Christianity into a Western branch, which is mostly Catholic and Protestant, and the Eastern branch, which is mostly Orthodox.

Animosity remains among some Orthodox over the 1204 sacking of Constantinople, now Istanbul, seat of the Eastern Church.

The two Christian leaders are due to greet 250 refugees requesting asylum and eat lunch with eight in a container before heading to the port, where the pontiff will deliver a speech and each leader will recite a prayer for victims.

Aid groups and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) have left Moria in protest at the conditions there.