Pope arrives in South Sudan, beginning 2nd leg of African voyage (Vatican News)

Pope Francis arrived in South Sudan in the mid-afternoon (local time) of February 3, beginning a long-awaited 3-day visit to the war-torn young nation.

The Pope had long hoped to visit South Sudan, to make an appeal for peace in a country that has been torn by fighting between rival factions since shortly after it won independence in 2011. In 2019 he had invited the political and religious leaders of the country to Rome for a spiritual retreat.

Thousands of people lined the streets from the airport to the capital city of Juba as the Pope’s motorcade passed.