Pope Francis did not invite Rome's centre-left Mayor Ignazio Marino to Sunday's close of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, he told reporters on the papal flight back from the United States to Italy.
"I didn't invite Mayor Marino," the pope said. "I asked the organisers and they didn't invite him either... He says he's Catholic. He came of his own accord."
Marino later issued a statement denying reports he had claimed the pontiff had invited him to event. Held on the final day of the pope's five-day visit to the United States. It ended with an open-air mass at the city's central boulevard, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
"The mayor's visit to Philadelphia arose from a series of meetings he held with officials from its city council," said the statement.
