Pope Francis was sharply criticised on Saturday by one of Belgium's Catholic universities over his stance on the role of women in society, in a strongly worded press release issued just moments after the pontiff spoke at the college.

The students questioned why the Catholic church has so few women in top positions and why their intellectual contribution had often been disregarded.

Pope Francis arrives flanked by Queen Mathilde of Belgium and King Philippe of Belgium, at Melsbroek air base in Steenokkerzeel, near Brussels, on the first day of his four-day visit to Luxembourg and Belgium,

Pope Francis met with church officials at the Koekelberg Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Brussels on Saturday, after meeting homeless people in the south of the city on his third day in Belgium. Francis will also visit the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve where he will meet students and greet the crowd from the popemobile.