Pope to travel to DR Congo, make ecumenical peace pilgrimage to South Sudan

by CNS · December 1, 2022

Pope Francis prays alongside Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, and the Rev. John Chalmers, former moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, at the conclusion of a two-day retreat for the political leaders of South Sudan, at the Vatican in this April 11, 2019, file photo. The pope will visit South Sudan Feb. 3-5, 2023, on a trip that will also take him to Congo. (CNS photo/Vatican Media via Reuters)

By Cindy Wooden, CNS – After postponing his trip last July, Pope Francis has rescheduled for Jan 31-Feb. 5 his trip to DR Congo and his ecumenical visit to South Sudan, the Vatican announced.

With the pope’s mobility still impaired, the new schedule for the trip has been trimmed slightly from what was planned in July, according to the schedule released by the Vatican on Dec. 1.

The main event missing from the schedule is a visit to DR Congo’s North Kivu province to celebrate Mass near the site of the former Kibumba refugee camp, which is where, in February 2021, Italy’s 43-year-old ambassador to DR Congo, Luca Attanasio, and two others were killed in an ambush while travelling in a U.N. convoy. Also missing is a meeting in Goma with the victims of violence.

Instead, the pope will remain in Kinshasa from his arrival in DR Congo Jan. 31 until his departure for South Sudan early Feb. 3.

As planned for years, the pope will travel to South Sudan with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and with the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, in a further attempt to encourage warring leaders to live up to the commitments they have made in a series of accords and finally offer their people peace.

This is the logo for Feb. 3-5, 2023 visit of Pope Francis to South Sudan. The pope will also visit Congo on the same trip, which was postponed last July. (CNS photo/Holy See Press Office)

The three leaders had been trying to schedule the visit since 2016, when South Sudanese Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders visited the pope and archbishop and asked them to go to encourage the peace process. At least 60% of South Sudan’s population, including its political leaders, are Christian.

A statement from Rev. Greenshields’ office said, “The purpose of the visit is to renew a commitment to peace and reconciliation and stand in solidarity with millions of ordinary people who are suffering profoundly from continued armed conflict, violence, floods and famine.”

Peace, unity and reconciliation also are the themes Pope Francis is expected to focus on in DR Congo, a nation rich in natural resources but torn apart by ongoing violence. The theme for the Congo visit is “All Reconciled in Jesus Christ,” which emphasises how more than 95% of the nation’s people are Christian, yet sporadic fighting continues, especially in the eastern and northeastern parts of the country.