The Pope has met with the leader of the Salvation Army at the Vatican, a move that is expected to lead to further relations between Salvationists and the Holy S

In his address on Friday to André Cox, who has served as the Salvation Army's general since 2013, Pope Francis said: "Catholics and Salvationists, together with other Christians, recognise that those in need have a special place in God's heart, so much so that the Lord Jesus Christ himself became poor for our sake.

"As a result, Catholics and Salvationists often meet in the same peripheries of society. It is my hope that our shared faith in Jesus Christ the Saviour, the one mediator between God and man, will become evermore the firm foundation of friendship and cooperation between us."

"The differences between Catholics and Salvationists regarding theological and ecclesiological questions need not impede the witness of our shared love of God and love of neighbour, a love which is capable of inspiring a concerted commitment to restoring the dignity of those who live on the margins of society," he added.

Founded by former Methodist minister William Booth in 1865 as the East London Christian Mission, the Salvation Army today numbers one and a half million members in 126 countries worldwide.