Pope arrives in Saint Francis town

Pope Francis will outline how the Catholic Church should follow the humble example of St Francis of Assisi during an historic visit on Friday to the hometown of the saint whose name he adopted.

Some 100,000 pilgrims and over 1,000 journalists are expected to follow the Argentine pope as he visits the sites associated with the mediaeval saint in the hilltown in Umbria in central Italy.

"I want to talk about how the Church should take off its clothes, how in some way the Church should repeat the gesture of St Francis," the bishop of Assisi, Domenico Sorrentino, quoted the pope as telling him ahead of the historic visit.

Francis, who has called for a "poor Church for the poor", has said he wants to overhaul the 2,000-year-old institution, making it less "Vatican-centric" and closer to ordinary people.

The visit is due to begin at 0600 GMT and wrap up at 1700 GMT Friday, with the pope expected to meet groups of poor, sick and handicapped people who are being looked after by Catholic orders or charities.

Logistics and security are expected to be complicated but the pope's bodyguards have said they have already had to adapt because of his constant desire to engage with his followers.

The pope has said the visit is a "pilgrimage" to visit the home of St Francis (1182-1226), whom he has praised for preaching peace, protecting all of God's creation and reaching out to the needy.

The pope is expected to visit the room where the act took place and meet with poor people.

There is expectation in Vatican circles of a possible major announcement during the visit.