Pope to visit Juba later this year

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Pope to visit Juba later this year

Memoscar Lasuba | February 27, 2017 | 12:06 pm

Pope Francis receives the Archbishop of Juba, Paulino Lukudu Loro and other religious leaders from South Sudan in the Vatican - OSS_ROM. Oct 27, 2016

Catholic Bishops say Pope Francis will visit Juba later this year to show his solidarity with people of South Sudan.

In a statement, the church leaders say the Holy Father is deeply concerned about the situation in the country since 2013.

The Catholic Bishops in South Sudan say the visit of the Pope would be a concrete symbol of his fatherly concern of the situation, and will draw the attention of the world.

The announcement of the visit comes days after the declaration of famine in some parts of the country, and a few months after an invitation by South Sudanese church leaders.

The Catholic Bishops have not specified the date for the visit, but they called on the faithful to pray for its success.They also urged the Christians to use the period before the visit to bring about transformation in the country.