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A Presbyterian minister and a Catholic priest from Belfast have met Pope Francis in Rome.

Rev Steve Stockman and Fr Martin Magill were part of a delegation from Belfast which met the Pope at the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

They were invited in their role as organisers of an annual cross-community festival which is this year celebrating its 10th anniversary.

In January, Pope Francis sent a video message to the 4 Corners Festival.

He praised Fr Magill and Rev Stockman for building bridges between communities in Belfast and on Monday he met them in person for the first time.

In a blog written before the meeting at the Vatican, Rev Stockman, who is originally from Ballymena, wrote: "I have no doubts that many in my denomination and other Protestants will call me a heretic.

"From what I have read and heard about Pope Francis I see him as a fellow follower of Jesus.

"I am particularly drawn to his humility and efforts to live outside the ostentatious ways of the Vatican."

Also at the meeting in Rome was a delegation from the Catholic chaplaincy at Queen's University in Belfast, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

'Incredible wisdom and heart'

On Twitter, : "We were honoured to meet with Pope Francis today. He shared with our students wise words and encouragement."

On the official news agency Vatican News, .

The Pope was quoted as saying: "If we truly believe in Jesus, we must do what Jesus does: Encounter others, encounter our neighbours, in order to share with them the saving truth of the gospel."

Afterwards, Rev Stockman, a former Presbyterian chaplain at Queen's and now a minister at Fitzroy Presbyterian Church in south Belfast, described the Pope as "a follower of Jesus, a man of God who had an incredible wisdom and heart to share with me".

Fr Magill, a parish priest at St John's Church on the Falls Road in west Belfast, said: "Pope Francis did talk about ecumenism, Christians being together, working together, praying together, being friendly together.

"It was lovely to hear Christians being together in a world that so fractured and at pain at this time," he added.