SOFIA, Bulgaria — Pope Francis’s drive to champion migrants and improve relations between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches got a cold reception in Bulgaria on Monday.

A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate denounced the pope’s efforts to unify the churches as a prelude to welcoming the Antichrist. And some Bulgarians shrugged off his pleas to welcome migrants.

Bulgaria, where there are few Catholics and fierce opposition to admitting refugees is common, is unforgiving terrain for the pope’s message. But he made it a centerpiece of his two-day visit, and punctuated it before leaving on Monday with a visit to a refugee center on the outskirts of the capital, Sofia.

“Today, the experience of migrants and refugees is a bit of a cross — a cross for humanity, and the cross of so many people suffering,” Francis said as he met with young asylum seekers at the Vrazhdebna refugee center.