Pope Francis seeks to bridge Christian-Muslim faultlines

Nairobi: Pope Francis steps onto African soil for the first time on Wednesday to address the continent's fast-growing Catholic congregation during a trip that will test his ability to bridge faultlines between Christians and Muslims.

The Nov. 25-30 tour starts in Kenya and Uganda, which have both seen Islamist militant attacks, before he travels to the Central African Republic, a nation torn by Muslim-Christian strife.

He is due to arrive in Nairobi at about 5 pm (1400 GMT).

"We are living at a time when religious believers, and persons of goodwill everywhere are called to foster mutual understanding and respect, and to support each other as members of our one human family," the pope said in a pre-trip message.