Map: Which international locations has Pope Francis visited? | Faith Information

Pope Francis’ journey to the DRC is the primary papal go to since John Paul II travelled there in 1985.

Pope Francis is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan this week.

The 86-year-old chief of the Catholic church will begin his journey on Tuesday within the Congolese capital Kinshasa earlier than heading to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on Friday.

The Vatican’s envoy to the DRC, the place Catholics make up about half of the inhabitants, has stated the journey will remind the world to not ignore decades-long conflicts there.

An estimated 5.7 million persons are internally displaced within the DRC and 26 million face extreme starvation, largely due to the impression of armed battle by a number of insurgent teams, in accordance with the United Nations.

INTERACTIVE_POPE FRANCIS_PROFILE_JAN31_2023_2 (1) — (Al Jazeera)

The journey might be Francis’s fortieth overseas since he was elected supreme pontiff in 2013 following the resignation of his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI. Over the course of those journeys, the pope has visited 59 international locations.

Pope Francis’ journey to the DRC is the primary go to by a pope since John Paul II travelled there in 1985 – it was nonetheless often called Zaire on the time.

The DRC is the second-largest nation in Africa and has a inhabitants of some 90 million individuals. The Church runs about 40 p.c of the nation’s well being amenities and about 6 million youngsters are taught in Catholic colleges.

The international locations the pope has visited embody:

Americas

Brazil: July 2013
Bolivia: July 2015
Ecuador: July 2015
Paraguay: July 2015
United States: September 2015
Cuba: September 2015, February 2016
Mexico: February 2016
Colombia: September 2017
Chile: January 2018
Peru: January 2018
Panama: January 2019
Canada: July 2022

undefined — Pope Francis waves to individuals from his popemobile within the Varginha slum, a part of the Manguinhos slum complicated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 25, 2013.

Asia

South Korea: August 2014
Sri Lanka: January 2015
Philippines: January 2015
Armenia: June 2016
Georgia: September 2016
Azerbaijan: October 2016
Myanmar: November 2017
Bangladesh: November 2017
Thailand: November 2019
Japan: November 2019
Kazakhstan: September 2022

Pope Francis arrives at Yangon International Airport — Pope Francis is welcomed as he arrives at Yangon Worldwide Airport, Myanmar November 27, 2017. [Max Rossi / REUTERS]

Africa

Kenya: November 2015
Uganda: November 2015
Central African Republic: November 2015
Egypt: April 2017
Morocco: March 2019
Mozambique: September 2019
Madagascar: September 2019
Mauritius: September 2019
Democratic Republic of Congo: January 2023
South Sudan: February 2023 (deliberate)

Pope Francis, centre-left, walks out in a procession after main a Holy Mass for the Martyrs of Uganda on the Catholic Sanctuary in Namugongo, Kampala, Uganda, November 28, 2015 [Ben Curtis / AP Photo]

Europe

Albania: September 2014
France: November 2014
Turkey: November 2014
Bosnia and Herzegovina: June 2015
Greece: April 2016
Poland: July 2016
Sweden: October 2016
Portugal: Might 2017
Switzerland: June 2018
Eire: August 2018
Estonia: September 2018
Latvia: September 2018
Lithuania: September 2018
Bulgaria: Might 2019
North Macedonia: Might 2019
Romania: Might 2019
Hungary: September 2021
Slovakia: September 2021
Cyprus: December 2021
Greece: December 2021
Malta: April 2022

Pope Francis speaks in the “Ambassadors' Chamber” of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta, Malta — Pope Francis speaks within the Ambassadors’ Chamber of the Grand Grasp’s Palace in Valletta, Malta, on April 2, 2022 [Remo Casilli / REUTERS]

Center East

Israel: Might 2014
Jordan: Might 2014
Palestine: Might 2014
United Arab Emirates: February 2019
Iraq: March 2019
Bahrain: November 2022