SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Pope Francis has met with refugees in Bulgaria's showcase refugee center and told them they are bearing the "cross of humanity," after he urged the migrant-skeptic government to not close its eyes to their suffering during a visit to the Balkan nation.

Refugee children from Iraq, Pakistan and elsewhere sang for Francis on Monday at the Vrazhdebna center, located in a refurbished school on the outskirts of Sofia, the Bulgarian capital.

Bulgaria's center-right government has been criticized by human rights groups and the European Council for its treatment of asylum-seekers, particularly unaccompanied minors.

Francis is on the second-day of a three-day visit to the Balkans. Later Monday, he is to celebrate Mass in the Catholic stronghold of Rakovsky and celebrate First Communion for more than 200 children.