India's Modi invites pope to visit after 2017 plan collapsed

India's prime minister has invited Pope Francis to visit the country

ROME -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invited Pope Francis to visit the country, extending an official opening after plans for a 2017 papal visit fell apart.

Modi made the invitation Saturday during an unusually long, 55-minute audience with Francis at the Vatican. Modi is in Rome for the Group of 20 summit.

There are roughly 18 million Catholics in India, a small minority in the largely Hindu nation of 1.3 billion. Modi’s hard-line, Hindu nationalist government was returned to power for a second term in 2019.

“Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis," Modi tweeted. “I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India.”