IDPs’ Message During Ecumenical Visit to South Sudan to “be delivered by a child”: Priest

The Holy Father’s two-African-nation pastoral trip has been scheduled to begin in the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kinshasa on July 2, and conclude on July 7 in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba.

In the program published May 28, Vatican officials said that during the second leg of Pope Francis’ 37th Apostolic Visit abroad that he is to undertake with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Jim Wallace, the three church leaders are to visit IDPs at their camp in Juba on July 6.

Speaking about the plans for the encounter between Pope Francis and the IDPs during the ecumenical visit, Fr. Abe has been quoted as saying, “We wanted to have him meet IDPs outside the camp, but he insisted that he want to go there and see for himself what the people are going through.” 

When realized, the July 2-7 pastoral trip to the two African countries will mark Pope Francis’ third visit to sub-Saharan Africa. 

The journey will be the first-ever Papal visit to South Sudan and the third Papal trip to DRC, which is home to Africa's largest Catholic population.

More in Africa

“We are in trouble”: Catholic Priests Lament as Less Known Jihadist Group Makes Inroads in Nigeria

Read the article

Patrick Juma Wani is a South Sudanese journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. Patrick holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Uganda. He has over 7 years of extensive experience in leading the development and implementation of media, advocacy, communication and multimedia strategy and operations, with an excellent track record of editorial leadership, budget management, and stakeholder outreach. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.