Pope Francis announced on Sunday that he is considering a trip to Mongolia later in 2023, which would mark a first for a pope. He also plans to travel to India next year. In 2017, he planned a trip to India, which fell through because of schedule issues. Pope Francis described his following trip plans while returning to Rome from South Sudan.
The Pope’s Upcoming Travel Plans
Pope Francis declared that he would attend a gathering of bishops from the Mediterranean on September 23 in Marseille, France, as well as World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, during the initial week of August. It would be a first for a pope to travel from Marseille to Mongolia. He also shared that he plans to travel to India in 2024 after his preparations for a visit in 2017 fell through.
He addressed the media following a six-day trip to the Congo and South Sudan. During this trip, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the Church of Scotland, joined him in Juba. This visit was planned to pressure South Sudan’s political authorities to go forward with enacting a stalled 2018 peace treaty. The treaty ended a civil conflict after the nation’s 2011 independence from Sudan. The Anglican, Catholic, and Presbyterian church leaders paid an unprecedented combined visit.
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Welby And Greenshields Accompanied Pope Francis
Welby and Greenshields travelled with Francis on the papal plane home and took part in his in-flight press conference, where they were questioned about their willingness to travel with Francis in the future. While Welby expressed his interest in joining Pope Francis in future travels, Greenshields highlighted that his term expires in May.
He also shared that he is being replaced by a very talented woman from America as the moderator of the Church of Scotland and he is sure that she will be just as obliged to join the pope in his future plans. Traditionally, the Vatican delegation involves only one woman, a protocol expert in the Vatican secretariat of state. A Congolese nun also joined the Pope on this trip, as his special guest.
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