RIGA, Latvia (AP) — Pope Francis has traveled to the Baltic nation of Latvia to recognize its suffering under Soviet and Nazi occupation and to encourage the Christian faith that endured there.

On the third day of his Baltic pilgrimage, Francis was attending an ecumenical prayer service Monday in the capital's Lutheran cathedral before heading to the Catholic shrine at Aglona, near Latvia's eastern border with Russia, that is a draw for the faithful across the region.

Upon arriving, Francis praised the Christian spirit that allowed Latvia to endure two Soviet occupations and the World War II-era occupation by Nazi Germany. He said: "You know all too well the price of that freedom, which you have had to win over and over again."

Latvia is 25 percent Lutheran, 19 percent Orthodox and 16 percent Catholic.