Catholics cannot "economise" when it comes to spending time in prayer with God and in service to other people, Pope Francis has told members of Azerbaijan's tiny Catholic community.
Arriving in the predominantly Shia Muslim nation after two days in neighbouring Georgia, the Pope went directly from the airport to Azerbaijan's only Catholic Church, the parish of the Immaculate Conception.
Officials said that about 300 people - more than half the number of Catholics in the entire country - were in the church for the Mass. Reflecting the backgrounds of members of the congregation, the prayers and readings at the Mass were in Azeri, English and Russian. The responsorial psalm, a chant in Azeri, was accompanied by the lilting tune of a tutek, a type of flute.
