Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has expressed hope that when Pope Francis visits India as invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his visit itinerary includes the coastal state.

PM Modi met Pope Francis on Friday on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy.

"Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji met HH Pope Francis @Pontifex on the sidelines of G7 Summit in Italy. Hon'ble PM admired his commitment to serve the people and extended an invitation to Pope to visit Bharat, and we hope the visit includes Goa," Sawant said on X.

A few months back, Sawant had said that the state government would be inviting Pope Francis for the decennial exposition of the relics of St Francis Xavier at Old Goa, scheduled to be held during later part of the year.

Christians constitute around 27 per cent of Goa's total population.

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