Pope Francis begins Apostolic journey to Africa

Pope Francis on Wednesday departed to Maputo, Mozambique for an Apostolic Journey will see him visiting Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius from 04 to 10 September 2019.

He’s going to deliver a total of 15 speeches during his tour: Five in Mozambique, eight in Madagascar and two in Mauritius.

The Mauritius leg will be only 8 hours, but the pontiff will still have time to celebrate Mass; have lunch with members of the bishops’ conference of the Indian Ocean; visit the Shrine of Blessed Jacques-Desire Laval, the “apostle of Mauritius”; and visit the presidential palace, meet with government authorities and deliver a speech to the diplomatic corps.

This will be Francis’s fourth visit to Africa, and second visit to sub-Saharan Africa.

In Mozambique, he will be visiting a country still suffering the aftermath of the 17-years-long civil war that took the life of a million people and left four million living as refugees. The pontiff is also expected to talk about climate change and the devastating effect it’s had in the country, particularly in Beira, Mozambique’s second largest city that was heavily impacted by two back-to-back cyclones that killed more than 1,000 people in six months.

Via Vatican News