Pope Hails Christian 'Martyr' Killed In Syria

Pope Francis has revealed that one of the refugees he met on the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday was the widower of a Christian "martyr" killed in Syria.

The Pontiff told an audience in St Peter's Square, Rome, that the man's wife was murdered by extremists after she refused to renounce her faith.

"He is Muslim, and he told me that he married a Christian girl," the Pope said.

"They loved each other and respected each other.

"But unfortunately the young woman's throat was slashed by terrorists because she didn't want to deny Christ and abandon her faith."

The father of two was one of several hundred refugees the Pope met during his trip to the Greek island.

In a hugely symbolic gesture, the Pontiff announced he was taking 12 Syrian refugees, including six children, back to the Vatican with him, to be cared for and supported.

"All refugees are children of God," he said on the flight back to Rome, referring to the fact all 12 refugees are Muslim.

Though his gesture was "a drop in the ocean", he said, he hoped "the ocean will never be the same again".

In an interview with Italian daily La Stampa, the families, who spent their first night in Rome at a Catholic charity, expressed their gratitude to the Pontiff for his "gesture of hope".

"We saw friends and relatives die in the rubble, we fled Syria because we no longer had any hope," said Hasan, an engineer from Damascus, who arrived in Italy with his wife Nour and two-year-old son.