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papal trips

Pope Francis waves at the crowd of 1.5 million people who attended the closing Mass of World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal on Aug. 6, 2023. | Vatican Media.

What countries did Pope Francis visit in 2023 and what did he say?

Dec 30, 2023

Despite advanced age and health challenges, the pope visited six countries on three continents in 2023.

Pope Francis presides over his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on Oct. 18, 2023. | Credit: Vatican Media

Pope Francis to Attend COP28 Climate Change Conference in Dubai in December

Nov 2, 2023

Pope Francis said in a TV interview he will travel to the United Arab Emirates for the second time from Dec. 1–3.

Pope Francis speaks during a meeting with local religious leaders at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea on the first of a two-day visit to Marseille, France, Sept. 22, 2023. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Pope Francis in Marseille: It’s "a duty of humanity" to Save Migrants Abandoned at Sea

Sep 22, 2023

“We can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks, caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” the pope said Sept. 22.

Credit: michel arnault/Shutterstock

5 Things to Know About Mongolia as Pope Francis Prepares for His Trip

Aug 28, 2023

Mongolia is one of the world’s largest landlocked nations, sandwiched between its much larger and more powerful neighbors, China and Russia. It has one of the smallest Christian communities in the world — a community nevertheless galvanized by Pope Francis’ upcoming trip, which is scheduled to take place Aug. 31–Sept. 4. 

Mongolia is a democratic country sandwiched between the authoritarian powers of Russia and China. | Credit: Shutterstock

What Pope Francis’ Trip to Mongolia Could Mean for Vatican Relations with Russia and China

Aug 27, 2023

Pope Francis’ next international trip will bring him to Mongolia, a democracy sandwiched between the authoritarian powers of Russia and China.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on March 22, 2023. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis to Travel to Mongolia End of August

Jun 3, 2023

The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis will visit Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square on March 22, 2023. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis Says He Will Travel to Mongolia

Apr 15, 2023

Pope Francis said Friday that he plans to visit Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated sovereign country.

Pope Francis at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary Sept. 12, 2021. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

"Christ is our future": Vatican Announces Theme, Schedule for Pope Francis’ Hungary Trip

Mar 21, 2023

Pope Francis will travel to Budapest, Hungary, in just over a month for an April 28–30 visit to the capital of the central European country.

Pope Francis in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 12, 2021. | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis to Visit Hungary in April

Feb 27, 2023

The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis will visit Hungary for the second time, from April 28-30.

Young people from eastern Congo lay down the machetes and knives used to kill their families at the foot of Christ’s cross to symbolize their forgiveness in a moving encounter with Pope Francis during his trip to the country Feb. 1, 2023. | Vatican Media

Pope "left without words" After Children’s Shocking Stories of Violence in Eastern Congo

Feb 2, 2023

In a moving encounter with Pope Francis, children from eastern Congo laid down the machetes and knives used to kill their families at the foot of Christ’s cross to symbolize their forgiveness.

Pope Francis celebrated Mass with around 1 million people in Kinshasa, DRC, on Feb. 1, 2023. | Vatican Media

1 Million Attend Joyful Mass with Pope Francis in Democratic Republic of Congo

Feb 1, 2023

More than one million people attended Pope Francis’ Mass in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday morning, according to local authorities.

Pope Francis meets with refugees from Congo and South Sudan before his flight to Africa on Jan. 31, 2023. | Centro Astalli

Pope Francis Meets with Refugees from Congo and South Sudan Before Flight to Africa

Jan 31, 2023

Before departing on his flight to Africa on Tuesday morning, Pope Francis met with a group of refugees and migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan at the Vatican.

Pope Francis speaking at the general audience on St. Peter's Square, Nov. 9, 2022 | Daniel Ibáñez / CNA

Pope Francis: Bahrain Trip "a new step" in Christian-Muslim dialogue

Nov 9, 2022

Pope Francis said Wednesday his trip to the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain was a new step on the journey to create “fraternal alliances” between Christians and Muslims.

Pope Francis boards his flight to Geneva June 21, 2018. | Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.

Pope Francis to Visit Kingdom of Bahrain in November

Sep 28, 2022

The Vatican confirmed Wednesday that Pope Francis will travel to the Kingdom of Bahrain, a Muslim island nation in the Persian Gulf, from Nov. 3–6.

Official logo and motto of Pope Francis’ Apostolic visit to the South Sudan. Credit: Vatican Media

South Sudan Papal Ecumenical Visit Awaiting Vatican’s “official announcement”: Archbishop

Sep 22, 2022

The ecumenical visit to South Sudan to be undertaken by Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields, is awaiting the Holy See’s “official announcement”, the Archbishop of South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See has said.

Pope Francis and the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, at the Vatican on Oct. 5, 2021. Vatican Media

Pope Francis in Touch with Church Leaders to Realize Postponed Ecumenical Visit to Africa

Sep 16, 2022

Pope Francis is in contact with the head of the Anglican Communion and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in view of realizing their postponed ecumenical trip to South Sudan.

Interreligious Dialogue An Urgent Need, Pope Francis Says at Close of Kazakhstan Congress

Sep 15, 2022

In his final remarks in Kazakhstan on Thursday, Pope Francis said interreligious dialogue is an urgently needed path to peace.

Pope Francis speaking in Nur-Sultan hall in Kazakhstan , Sept 13. 2022. | Vatican Media

Pope Francis Urges Peace in "senseless and tragic war" in Ukraine

Sep 13, 2022

Pope Francis arrived in Kazakhstan Tuesday urging dialogue and peace in the face of Russia’s “senseless and tragic war” in Ukraine.

"Every human being is sacred": Pope Francis to Religious Leaders in Kazakhstan

Sep 13, 2022

It is the task of religions to remind society of the sacredness of all human life, Pope Francis told leaders of the world’s religions in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

Indigenous drummers welcome Pope Francis to Lac Ste. Anne. Vatican Media

A look Beyond Headlines: Pope Francis Encounters Catholic, Life History on Canada Journey

Jul 28, 2022

This “penitential pilgrimage” is dedicated to a real path of reconciliation with the Native American populations, and at the same time it is also an apostolic journey to a country with a rich and varied Catholic history.