Pope Francis visited Auschwitz today during his five-day trip to Poland.

The Pontiff entered alone through the notorious “Arbeit Macht Frei” gate of the camp.

He prayed silently at several locations within the complex, and met former inmates as well as people designated “righteous amongst the nations” for sheltering Jews during the Holocaust.

The Pope also travelled to Birkenau, where most of Auschwitz’s 1.1 million victims were murdered.

He listened to Michael Shudrich, Poland’s Chief Rabbi, recite psalm 130 – “From the depths I have called out to you, o Lord” – in Hebrew.

In the death camp’s commemorative book, the head of the Catholic Church wrote: “Lord, have pity on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty.”

He carried a memorial candle and spent several minutes alone in the cell where St Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest, was killed.

It is the first Papal visit to the site in 10 years - two previous popes have visited: John Paul II in 1979 and Pope Benedict in 2006