PM Modi pays a visit to Pope Francis in the Vatican and extends an invitation to him to visit India.

Pope Francis has been asked to visit India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The invitation was issued during a meeting between them in the Vatican on Saturday morning.

Mr Modi presented Pope Francis with a silver candelabra as well as the book The Climate Climb: India's Strategy, Actions, and Results. The Pope gave Mr Modi a collection of his main teaching documents and a bronze medallion featuring a tree and the words in Italian “The desert will become a garden."

Pope Francis has been outspoken on the need to address climate change and has spoken out against ongoing hostilities in Syria and Afghanistan in the past. He has urged countries to accept Afghan refugees and spoken out against racism and other sorts of hate crime.