First stop on a visit to Africa.. Pope of the Vatican arrives in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Pope Francis arrived today, Tuesday, in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as it is the first stop on a tour that will also lead him to southern Sudan.

"It's a beautiful visit," the 86-year-old pope told reporters accompanying him on the trip. "I would also like to visit Goma, but because of the war, I can't."

On his 40th international trip since his election in 2013, and the fifth to the African continent, the Argentine pope will call for the silence of the guns in a country wracked by deadly violence and where two-thirds of its 100 million people live on less than $2.15 a day.

Tomorrow I will depart on an Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to the Republic of South Sudan.

I greet with affection those beloved people who await me.

I ask everyone, please, to accompany this Journey with their prayers.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 30, 2023

Thousands of people are expected to attend a prayer service at Ndulu Airport in Kinshasa, where they will spend the night, before the Pope greets a huge mass on Wednesday morning attended by more than a million people.

Preparations appeared in the Congolese capital, where giant banners and billboards carried messages welcoming the first pope to visit the country since John Paul II in 1985.

Pope Francis arrives in DR Congo on a 'beautiful trip' to Africa https://t.co/oS8XzmuxDW pic.twitter.com/kMwcbiQJxZ

— Nation Africa (@NationAfrica) January 31, 2023

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing the re-emergence of the armed "M23" rebel movement, which in recent months has occupied large areas of the North Kivu region in the east of the country.

This visit also comes two weeks after an armed attack in which 10 people were killed, as it targeted a church in North Kivu province, and the Islamic State claimed responsibility for it.

During his visit, the Pope will also meet victims of violence, clerics and representatives of charities, and next Friday he will head to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the newest and poorest country in the world.