Vatican City, Jun 13, 2022 / 06:52 am
Pope Francis said on Monday that he intends to celebrate Mass for Rome’s Congolese community on the day he was due to offer Mass in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The pope made the announcement on June 13, the day after he apologized for having to postpone a scheduled trip to Africa in July because of ongoing knee pain.
He said that on July 3, when he was previously scheduled to celebrate Sunday Mass at Ndolo Airport, he would seek instead offer Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“We will bring Kinshasa to St. Peter’s, and there we will celebrate with all the Congolese in Rome, of which there are many,” he said at the start of an audience with the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.