Pope Francis says he will pray, not speak, at Auschwitz

Pope Francis has cancelled a speech during a visit to Auschwitz next month, saying he would prefer to mark the moment in silence.

The Vatican's schedule for the Pope's visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau on July 29 had him giving a speech at the international monument at Birkenau, just as St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI did.

But on the flight back to Rome from Armenia, Fr Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told Pope Francis: "I heard that you want to live that moment more with silence than words."