Pope Francis to visit Africa Jan 31

Pope Francis visits South Sudan war victims

 

Vatican Head, Pope Francis, is expected to visit African countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan between January. 31 to February. 5, 2023.

According to the vatican, the visit was originally to take place in the beginning of July 2022, but was postponed by the Vatican due to problems with Pope Francis’ knee.

Francis will begin his journey in the Congolese city of Kinshasa from January 31 to February 3 before traveling to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, from February 3–5.

The pope no longer intends to travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital of Goma, according to a revised itinerary made public by the Vatican on December 1, 2022.

Together with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, Francis will travel to South Sudan on a “pilgrimage of peace.”

Pope Francis will be the first pope to travel to South Sudan, which became the world’s newest nation on July 9, 2011, when it formally proclaimed its independence from the Republic of the Sudan. With 11 million citizens, the country in east-central Africa is home to about 37% Catholics.