The January 31-February 5 visit to Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan, takes the 86-year-old pope to places where Catholics make up about half of the populations and where the church is a key player in health and educational systems.
The trip was scheduled to take place last July but was postponed because Francis was suffering a flare-up of a chronic knee ailment. He still uses a wheelchair and cane but his knee has improved significantly.
Francis had planned to visit the eastern city of Goma but that stop was scrapped after the resurgence of fighting between the army and the M23 rebel group in the area where Italy's ambassador, his bodyguard and driver were killed in an ambush in 2021. “Our hope for the Congo is that this visit will reinforce the church's engagement in support of the electoral process,” said Britain's ambassador to the Vatican, Christ Trott, who spent many years as a diplomat in Africa.The trip takes on an unprecedented nature on Friday when the pope leaves Kinshasa for South Sudan's capital, Juba.
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