Pope, invoking Mother Teresa, encourages North Macedonia's bid to join EU

Pope Francis leads the Holy Mass at the Macedonia square in Skopje, North Macedonia May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

SKOPJE (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Tuesday implicitly blessed efforts by North Macedonia and other Balkan countries to join the European Union, saying Skopje could look to its most famous daughter, Mother Teresa, as a stimulus to build a common destiny.

After two days in Bulgaria, Francis arrived in the North Macedonian capital for a 10-hour stop, becoming the highest profile international figure to visit since the country changed its name from Macedonia in January.