Pope Francis arrives in Egypt to deliver messages of solidarity with persecuted Coptic Christians

Pope Francis hopes to dialogue with influential Muslims.

Pope Francis has arrived in Egypt to deliver a message of solidarity and peace to the people of that country.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) -- Pope Francis has arrived in Egypt where he will conduct a whirlwind series of meetings intended to express solidarity with both Christians and Muslims.

The trip is his 18th outside of Italy, and he is the second pope to visit Egypt, following Pope John Paul II who visited in 2000.

During his visit, he will meet with several leaders including the Egyptian President, Abdel el-Sisi.

He will also meet with Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II and is expected to deliver a message of solidarity. The Coptic Christians have faced severe persecution from radical Muslims in Egypt, as well as some degree of soft persecution from the Egyptian government. It is nearly impossible to build a Coptic Christian church in Egypt due to restrictive laws.

Pope Francis will also visit Egypt's Al-Azhar Mosque. He will speak with the grand imam, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb as part of a peace conference hosted by the imam.

Finally, Pope Francis will meet with Catholics living and working the Egypt, especially clergy and seminarians.

Pope Francis is calling all people to join in solidarity, both Muslim and Christian. In a recent TED Talk, Pope Francis called for a revolution in tenderness, wherein we should treat one another as we treat ourselves.

In 2015, Pope Francis famously removed his shoes at a mosque and declared that "Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters."

Egypt has 90 million people, and 10 percent of them are Coptic Christians, making them the largest non-Muslim minority in the nation. For the most part, Muslims and Christians peacefully coexist in the nation, but there are cases of discrimination and injustice. Even violence.

Most of the violence against Christians takes place in rural areas where the population is mostly Christians, and local Muslims feel threatened. Public officials often side with the Muslims, making life difficult for Christians.

Recently, Christians have fled the country, particularly as terrorist groups like ISIS have entered. It is hoped that by crushing ISIS and with people like Pope Francis spreading a message of peace, that stability will return and the Christians of Egypt can flourish in peace.