During his trip, he will beatify（行宣福礼） Korean Catholics who died for their faith and attend a Catholic² youth festival. 

 

The South Korean Catholic Church is one of the fastest growing in the world, with just over 5.4 million members, some 10.4% of the population. 

 

North Korea fired short-range rockets off its east coast around the time of the Pope's arrival.

 

It fired three rockets on Thursday morning as the pope's plane approached South Korean airspace, and another two in the afternoon, according to news agencies. 

 

Pyongyang has engaged in several such launches in recent months in what it says is a response to US and South Korean provocations³（挑衅，激怒） - in the latest case, a military drill due to start on Monday.

 

 

President Park Geun-hye was at the airport to greet the pontiff.

 

He is expected to pay tribute⁴ to some of South Korea's first Catholics when he beatifies 124 Koreans who died in the 18th and 19th Centuries. 

 

After an individual is beatified, he or she is given the title "blessed". 

 

The beatification ceremony will be held on Saturday at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, with up to one million people expected to attend.

 

he pontiff is also attending Asian Youth Day, a festival for young Catholics from across the region. 

 

He is also scheduled to meet students who survived the Sewol ferry disaster that claimed more than 300 lives. 

 

A Mass for Peace and Reconciliation⁵ will be held in the Myeong-dong cathedral in Seoul on Monday, on the final day of his trip. 

 

There Pope Francis will deliver a message of peace for the divided Koreas and East Asia, according to Yonhap News Agency.

 

North Korea rejected an invitation by the Archdiocese of Seoul for 10 North Korean Catholics to attend the final mass, South Korean officials say. 

 

It is not clear how many Catholics there are in North Korea.

点击收听单词发音