Pedro Pablo Kuczynski urged Francis to help bring the country together after a political crisis.
ADVERTISEMENTPursuing his trip to Latin America, Pope Francis has arrived in Peru.
He was greeted by its president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who urged the pontiff to help bring the country together after a political crisis triggered by his pardon of Peru's former autocratic leader Alberto Fujimori.
The outcry saw Kuczynski nearly ousted from office a month ago.
Tens of thousands greeted Francis on the streets of Lima following his arrival on Thursday.
The Argentine pontiff's visit to largely Roman Catholic Peru and Chile has also been about highlighting indigenous peoples' plight and restoring the Church's credibility after sex abuse allegations.
Francis will travel to two more Peruvian cities and celebrate Mass in Lima on Sunday, with more than 1 million expected to attend.
Earlier in mid-air above Chile, the Pope married two flight attendants in the first such ceremoy on a papal flight.
He signed an improvised wedding certificate for a steward and stewardess who had a civil union in 2010 but said that that year's earthquake stopped their religious service going ahead, after the church they had hoped to tie the knot in was damaged.
Paula Podest Ruiz, 39, and Carlos Ciuffardi Elorriga, 41, had asked Francis to bless their marriage. But he had something else in mind and went one better!
The pope performed the brief ceremony in the front of the plane which was en route to the northern city of Iquique from Santiago.
"Being married by a pope on board a flight is something priceless," Podest said.
with Reuters