Pope Francis kneels to kiss the feet of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit, at the Vatican in July 2019. (Vatican Media via AP)
Pope Francis kneels to kiss the feet of South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit, at the Vatican in July 2019. (Vatican Media via AP)

Pope Francis will visit South Sudan in July, the Vatican said on Thursday, making a trip he has repeatedly had to delay because of security concerns in a country still emerging from a post-independence civil war.

The Vatican said Francis will be in South Sudan July 5-7 after visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo July 2-5 on the same trip.

The pope has wanted to visit predominantly Christian South Sudan for years but each time planning for a trip began it had to be postponed because of the unstable situation.

In 2019 Francis hosted South Sudan’s opposing leaders at a Vatican retreat where he knelt and kissed their feet as he urged them not to return to conflict.

Source: Reuters

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