Tanks and armed police guard the Pope as he leads mass for 15,000 Christians in a Cairo football stadium in defiance of ISIS threats

Pope Francis led a jubilant mass for 15,000 Egyptian Catholics on Saturday during a visit to support the country's embattled Christian minority and promote dialogue with Muslims, amid heavy security across Cairo. For a minority devastated by a series of ISIS church bombings that killed dozens of Christians, it was a chance for respite and

celebration. Despite fears of another jihadist attack, thousands of Catholics waited for hours to enter a heavily guarded stadium in Cairo to pray with the leader of the Catholic church. Worshippers released yellow and white balloons with Francis, flanked by a throng of security personnel, circling the Egyptian capital's Air Defense Stadium on a golf cart and waving to the crowds as a chorus sang a joyous hymn.