Pope francesco he said Sunday that he plans to visit India next year and is studying a possible trip to Mongolia later in 2023 in what would be a first for a pope.
Francis outlined his next travel plans on his flight back to Rome from South Sudan.
He confirmed that he will be in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day the first week of August and that he will attend a meeting of Mediterranean bishops in Marseille, France on September 23.
He said there was “the possibility” that he would fly from Marseilles to Mongolia, which would be a first for a pope.
Looking further ahead, Francis said he thought he would visit India in 2024, after plans for a 2017 trip fell apart.
Francis spoke to reporters after a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan, where he was joined in the South Sudanese capital, Jubaby the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotlandthe Rt. rev. Ian Greenshields.
Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders paid another joint visit to push South Sudan’s political leaders to make progress on implementing a stalled 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war following the independence of the country from Sudan in 2011.
Welby and Greenshields joined Francis aboard the papal plane and attended his aerial press conference, during which they were asked if they would be willing to join Francis on future trips as well.
Welby said he would be “delighted” if it could help, joking that the papal plane was “the best airline I’ve ever flown on”.
Greenshields were also enthusiastic, but noted their term ends in May.
In a nod to the nearly all-male Vatican delegation accompanying Francis on his foreign travels, Greenshields stressed that he would be replaced by “a very capable woman” as Church of Scotland moderator, the Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, an American . The Church of Scotland has ordained women ministers since the 1960s.
“He’d be happy to do the same thing,” he said.
The Vatican delegation, made up mostly of cardinals and bishops, traditionally includes only one woman: a protocol expert from the Vatican secretariat of state. On this trip, Francis also invited a Congolese nun as a personal guest.
Francis outlined his next travel plans on his flight back to Rome from South Sudan.
He confirmed that he will be in Lisbon, Portugal for World Youth Day the first week of August and that he will attend a meeting of Mediterranean bishops in Marseille, France on September 23.
He said there was “the possibility” that he would fly from Marseilles to Mongolia, which would be a first for a pope.
Looking further ahead, Francis said he thought he would visit India in 2024, after plans for a 2017 trip fell apart.
Francis spoke to reporters after a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan, where he was joined in the South Sudanese capital, Jubaby the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the moderator of the Church of Scotlandthe Rt. rev. Ian Greenshields.
Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian leaders paid another joint visit to push South Sudan’s political leaders to make progress on implementing a stalled 2018 peace deal that ended a civil war following the independence of the country from Sudan in 2011.
Welby and Greenshields joined Francis aboard the papal plane and attended his aerial press conference, during which they were asked if they would be willing to join Francis on future trips as well.
Welby said he would be “delighted” if it could help, joking that the papal plane was “the best airline I’ve ever flown on”.
Greenshields were also enthusiastic, but noted their term ends in May.
In a nod to the nearly all-male Vatican delegation accompanying Francis on his foreign travels, Greenshields stressed that he would be replaced by “a very capable woman” as Church of Scotland moderator, the Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, an American . The Church of Scotland has ordained women ministers since the 1960s.
“He’d be happy to do the same thing,” he said.
The Vatican delegation, made up mostly of cardinals and bishops, traditionally includes only one woman: a protocol expert from the Vatican secretariat of state. On this trip, Francis also invited a Congolese nun as a personal guest.
