Pope Francis will travel to the Greek island of Lesbos along with the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church next week in a "visit of extraordinary importance" expressing support for refugees, a Greek government source confirmed Tuesday.

"The Greek government will welcome Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as valuable defenders of support to refugees, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will go with (them) to the island of Lesbos," the source said, declining to give the exact date of the visit.