The Vatican announced that Pope Francis is planning to visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in July.
The Pope would visit the African nations on July 2-7, “at the invitation of their respective heads of state and bishops, ” said the Holy See press office on 3 March.
He will spend July 2-5 in the Congolese cities of Kinshasa and Goma, and July 5-7 in the South Sudanese capital Juba.
“The program and further details of the journey will be announced in due course,” the press office said.
Pope Francis will become the first pope to visit South Sudan, which became the world’s newest country when it declared independence from the Republic of Sudan on July 9, 2011. The east-central nation in Africa has a population of 11 million people, around 37% of whom are Catholic.