Pope Francis embarks on his fifth visit to Africa on Tuesday, flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo and then South Sudan to plead for peace in the two violence-plagued nations.
Thousands of well-wishers are expected at Kinshasa’s Ndjili international airport to greet the 86-year-old pontiff’s plane, which is due to land around 3:00 pm local time.
It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited DRC, a desperately poor country of close to 100 million people, 40 percent of whom are Catholic.
The six-day trip to DRC and South Sudan was originally planned for July 2022, but postponed due to the pontiff’s knee pain that has forced him in recent months to use a wheelchair.
