independence 12 years ago. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool is travelling with the papal party, and sent this report from the capital, juba. it s his 40th foreign trip as pope, but it s a visit like no other he s ever had before. he s previously postponed this because of ill health and mobility issues, but was always clear, in spite of a reduced international schedule, there was one country he was sure to go south sudan. but what makes this visit different is that for the first time on a foreign trip, he s accompanied by the leaders of other global christian denominations. the moderator of the church of scotland and the archbishop of canterbury are injuba, too. at last, i am here, said
but what makes this visit different is that for the first time on a foreign trip, he s accompanied by the leaders of other global christian denominations. the moderator of the church of scotland and the archbishop of canterbury are injuba, too. at last, i am here, said pope francis told a crowd of displaced people, together with my brothers on this pilgrimage of peace. since independence in 2011, south sudan slipped quickly into conflict. it s along tribal and not religious lines, but the leaders are mainly christian catholic, anglican, and presbyterian. back in 2019, in one of the most powerful moments of his papacy, pope francis kissed the feet of the south sudanese rivals at the end of a meeting at the vatican. they promised to work for lasting peace, but little changed.
. pope francis is preparing for his departure from south sudan, he just celebrated mass in the capitol juba after a farewell ceremony. he heads back to rome on saturday. pope met with some of south sudan s millions of internally displaced possibly as he s done throughout the trip. he called for a rejection of violence and all collect. the pontiff and two other religious leaders in the country with him said a special blessing for south sudan s children and the pope is accompanied by the heads of an lic, an church and church of scotland representing christian denominations to which most south sudaneses belong. john allen senior vatican analyst and joins us live from
have been approached for comment. noor nanji, bbc news. the pope, archbishop of canterbury and moderator of the church of scotland are on an historic three day visit to south sudan. they ve called it a pilgrimage of peace to the country, where more than 400,000 people have been killed in violence since independence 12 years ago. 0ur religion editor, aleem maqbool, is travelling with them. it s his 40th foreign trip as pope, but it s a visit like no other. a journey that takes him to south sudan, but what makes it unique is that for the first time, leaders of other global christian denominations are visiting with him. when we landed, the moderator of the church of scotland, iain greenshields, and archbishop of canterburyjustin welby climbed on board to greet the pope. they re here together to persuade leaders in this young, troubled nation to put aside their differences for the sake of their people.
are on a historic three day visit to south sudan. they ve called it a pilgrimage of peace to a country where more than 400,000 people have been killed in violence since independence 12 years ago. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool is travelling with the papal party and sent this report from the capital, juba. it s his 40th foreign trip as pope, but it s a visit like no other he s had before. he has previously postponed this because of ill health and mobility issues, but he was clear that there was one country he was sure to go south sudan. but what makes this visit different is that for the first time on a foreign trip, he s accompanied by the leaders of other global christian denominations.