Hundreds of thousands of people waited for the Pope Francisco in the streets of Kinshasa, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he arrived on Tuesday in what constitutes his 40th international trip. It will last until February 5 and includes South Sudan.
Francis’ plane landed at 2:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. GMT) at the Ndjili di Kinsasa airport and from there he traveled by popemobile to the Palace of the Nation where he will meet with the country’s president, Félix Tshisekedi. He will then make his first speech.
In the 25 kilometers of the boulevard that separates the airport from the presidential palace, hundreds of thousands of people crowded, perched on buildings and bridges to see the pontiff pass by in a massive welcome that had not been seen since his trips to Latin America, according to the office of efe.
In this country where half of its 90 million people are Catholic, the pope was received with songs, dances and hundreds of banners that welcomed him in all languages. On the roadsides, many schoolchildren in their uniforms were waiting for him, as well as nuns from the many Catholic centers in the country.
The plane that carried the #Pope Francisco landed at 2:33 p.m. at the @PapeEnRdc The Holy Father was received at the Kinshasa airport by the Prime Minister, along with two children in traditional clothing, the same ones who offered him flowershttps://t.co/nrcrvGsnYf
— Vatican News (@vaticannews_es) January 31, 2023
The 40th international trip for Francisco, 86, should have taken place in July last year, but knee pain caused it to be postponed.
Since then the situation has become more complicated, especially in the DRC, where in recent months there has been an upsurge in violence on the border with Rwanda. There are the coltan mines, an essential mineral to manufacture mobile phones, modern weapons and communication elements.
There are more than 100 armed groups in the area, such as the rebel Movement March 23 (M23), for this reason the Goma stage, foreseen in the initial program, has been suspended.
Pope Francis will celebrate a mass on Wednesday in the area of the Ndolo airport in Kinshasa, where about a million people are expected.
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He will also hold a meeting with young people and catechists at the Estadio de los Mártires.
On Friday he will travel to South Sudan, where he will remain until Sunday, February 5, on a visit in which he will be accompanied by the leader of the Anglicans, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.
