The Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis returns to East Africa in July 2022.
Despite current knee problem the pontiff is set to visit two member states of the East African Community.
The Bishop of Rome’s July 2 and 7 trip to Africa sees him in South-Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The two countries are the newest members of the Arusha-based, East African Community (EAC).
In-fact, DR Congo only joined the Regional Bloc only this year. South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016.
The Republic of South-Sudan gained its independence from Sudan in July 2011.
The country is thus the most recent sovereign state with widespread recognition as of 2022.
South Sudan also signed the Geneva Conventions in July 2012. And now the Pope visits the country in July 2022.
The Vatican issued a full program on Saturday for the July 2-7 trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
However, speculations arose over the pope’s visit to Africa with some reports claiming that the pontiff may even postpone his tour, due to knee problems, but these have been dismissed so far.
The Head of the Catholic Church was also planning a trip to Lebanon this June 2022 but this was cancelled, reportedly due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Still, Poe Francis is making two trips in July, one to both South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the other to Canada.
Pope Francis is not new to East Africa, having visited Kenya from 25 to 27 November 2015.
Afterwards the Bishop of Rome connected to Uganda where he celebrated the 50th Anniversary Mass for Martyrs at Namugongo, near Kampala.
The last time a Pope visited Tanzania was in September 1990 when Pope John Paul II the country and also toured Rwanda.
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