Pope Francis will travel to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar and Mauritius and to the Southeast African nation of Mozambique in September 2019.
This will be the pontiff’s fourth visit to Africa, after going to Uganda, Kenya and Central African Republic in 2015, Egypt in 2017 and his upcoming March 30-31 trip to Morocco.
Mozambique and Madagascar are among the world’s poorest countries.
Francis’s new trip was confirmed by the Vatican’s interim spokesman, Alessandro Gissoti, who released a statement confirming the date and the three cities the pope will visit – Maputo, Antananarivo and Port Luis.
The full program hasn’t been released yet although the themes and logos for each country have, with “peace” as a common thread.
