Despite his mobility problems, Pope Francis travels to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Despite his mobility problems, the Pope decided to confirm the trip to two African countries between July 2 and 7 and prepares the bags to which he adds the wheelchair and the cane because he will have to use them in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

In the latter African country, he had to cancel two previous attempts due to Security issues.

The decision causes questions because the apostolic tour promises many efforts, although it is expected that the use of the wheelchair and two hours a day of physical therapy by orthopedic experts who also perform infiltrations, they should in a month put it in condition to face the test.

Thousands of kilometers and five flights

Some Vatican officials they frown because reading the activities of the apostolic tour one notices “that endeavors are strenuous”, according to a Vatican source.

Thousands of kilometers of travelfive different plane flights, around twenty speeches, dozens of meetings, masses and dialogues with the rulers of the DRC and South Sudan.

The Pope will reside in Kinshasa y Yubathe two capitals, where he is supposed to frequently use a wheelchair and cane to meet commitments.

One of his visits to the Republic of the Congo will be to the dangerous zone of Gomawhere guerrillas and conflicting groups act, where he will celebrate a mass in the town of Rutshuru.

There is the crossroads where on February 22 of last year they were shot to death the italian ambassador in DRC, Luca Attanasio, and the police officer who escorted him.

The diplomat was traveling to mediate as much as possible between groups and give help. The group, with a weak escort, was ambushed by one of the guerrillas.

preparations underway

A nun, Antonina Lo Schiavo, said by phone from Goma that “here the preparations have started”.

“The joy of the people for the visit of the Holy Father is great,” added Antonina, who tells whoever asks about the alternatives experienced by the great Congo, formerly a Belgian colony and now an independent neocolonized.

There are reports that fighting has resumed in North Kivu and “people are fleeing to Uganda”. The Goma region suffers another destabilization. The Pope will arrive here, who in 2017 had to suspend a visit to the Congo due to internal political and security problems.

From Kinshasa, an Italian Comboni missionary said by phone that “We have been waiting for the Pope’s visit for six years and we hope that your presence in Goma can move things and turn on the global spotlight on what is happening in eastern Congo”. The International Criminal Court is considering initiating a process for the massacres.

Francisco will meet with the relatives of the victims.

The Comboni missionary, Father Gaspare, concluded that “we pray that the presence of the Pope stimulate the opening of a process of the Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Pope will begin his Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace on the morning of July 2. He will fly six and a half hours on a special plane from Rome to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital. There he will be officially received at the Palace of the Nation by President Félix Tshisekedi and will deliver his first speech.

The day will conclude with a private meeting at the Vatican embassy with the Jesuits present in the country.

On Sunday the 3rd, the Argentine Pope will officiate a field mass at the Ndolo airport in the capital and at the end he will recite the Angelus. At six in the evening he will meet with bishop priests, religious and seminarians in the Our Lady of the Congo Cathedral.

Monday will come the critical moment of the trip with a flight to the extreme northeast of the country. He will land in Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and celebrate a field mass at noon in Campo de Kibumba, the village where the Italian ambassador was assassinated. In the afternoon he will travel to Beni and at five he will meet the families and survivors of the violence in Beni.

Beni is the second city in the Kivu region, which has suffered Ebola epidemics and natural calamitiesbut it is famous for the massacres of civilians and other atrocities committed by militias, guerrillas and the military.

Amid imposing security measures, Francis will remain for an hour at the Reception Center for victims of violence in the diocese of Goma and later return to the capital Kinshasa.

On Tuesday the 5th, the Pope will meet young people and catechists at the Martyrs’ Stadium.

He will then undertake his Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan, accompanied by the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.

South Sudan is one of the countries most insecure in the world by the continuous wars that have divided the country. In 2019, when he had to cancel a trip, Jorge Bergoglio promised that he would visit “one day” those who were waiting for him in this country, with a strong presence of Christian faithful.

In the Juba capital, the first visit will be to President Salva Kiir Mayardi, who in 2019 visited the Pope in the Vatican accompanied by political and religious authorities. With Francisco they made an ecumenical spiritual retreat.

In the meeting with the local authorities and personalities, the Pope will deliver a speech.

On Wednesday the 6th he will visit an internal refugee camp and then he will meet with the Jesuits of the country. At five in the afternoon he will visit the Cathedral of Santa Teresa to meet with bishops and priests. He will then attend an ecumenical prayer at the memorial dedicated to John Garang, who was the leader of the People’s Liberation Movement and the country’s first president.

The Pope will return to the Mausoleum on the morning of Thursday the 7th to celebrate the last mass of the trip and will then go to the airport. His plane is expected to land in Rome at 6:05 p.m., five hours earlier in Argentina.

Vatican correspondent

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