Thousands of Mauritians waved palm branches as Francis arrived on Monday to celebrate a mass honouring the Reverend Jacques-Desire Laval.
While Catholics represent less than a third of Mauritius' 1.3 million people, Father Laval is seen as a unifying figure for all Mauritians, most of whom are Hindu.
Francis is in the Mauritian capital Port Louis for just a few hours to meet with government leaders on the final day of his week-long Africa trip.
Attending the mass was a 50-member delegation from the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago that includes the US air base on Diego Garcia.
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