Francisco begins his fourth visit to Africa | Chronic

Pope Franciscor start this Wednesday. his fourth trip as pontiff to Africa. It will cross Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius with a demand for "fraternal reconciliation" as a goal of peace for the whole continent. Jorge Bergoglio He will leave Rome at 8 am and land about nine hours later at the airport in Maputo, capital of Mozambique. There they will give you a welcome ceremony.

The papal tour includes the destinations of Mozambique from 4 to 6 years, then Madagascar at 10 am, and will make a visit of a few hours in Mauritius before returning to Rome next Tuesday. During a trip, his focus will be support for the peace processes on the continent and the slogans that will accompany the Holy Father are "Hope, peace and reconciliation" for the trip to Mozambique; "Sower of peace and hope" in Madagascar and "Pope Francis, pilgrim of peace" in Mauritius.

It will also be Bergoglio's fourth trip to Africa, which in November 2015 visited Kenya, the Central African Republic and Uganda; In April 2017, he went to Egypt and in March of this year, he went to Morocco. In Mozambique, Francisco will arrive in a country that is taking the final steps towards the certification of a peace process signed on August 6 and culminating in the presidential elections scheduled for October 15.

In addition, he will meet young people who participated in the programs promoted by the Pontifical Foundation Scholas Occurrentes, created by Bergoglio in August 2013 and led by Argentineans. José María del Corral and Enrique Palmeyro.

Poverty

The visit to Madagascar, the fourth largest island in the world, will be mainly devoted to young people and children suffering from poverty and violence, where it will also address the issue of the environment. The visit of the Akamasoa Humanitarian Association will be a key part of the tour. It was created in 1989 by the Argentine priest Pedro Opeka in order to rescue the poor of Antananarivo who lived in the Andralanitra landfill.

Opeka, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, received by Francisco in 2018, has built some 4,000 homes where 25,000 people live and facilitated the schooling of some 14,000 children. In the middle of his stay in Antananarivo, the Holy Father will spend Monday, March 9, a visit of a few hours to Mauritius, where he will celebrate the Holy Mbad at the Monument of Mary in the capital Port Louis, hold religious and official meetings and return in the afternoon. in Madagascar to spend the last night of your trip.

The last day of the trip will be dedicated only to the return of Madagascar to Italy. Francisco will do the farewell ceremony at Antananarivo Airport in the morning and will land at Roma Ciampino airport in 19 different locations, including 14 in Argentina next Tuesday.