Pope Francis is due to wind up his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo and arrive in South Sudan on Friday on a three-day visit to promote peace and reconciliation in a country still bearing the scars of civil war.
Francis is scheduled to land in Juba at 3:00 pm (1300 GMT), in the first visit to South Sudan by a pope since the predominantly Christian nation gained independence from Muslim-majority Sudan in 2011 after decades of bloody struggle.
Peace has eluded South Sudan in statehood too, with a five-year civil war leaving 380,000 people dead, four million displaced, and the young country deeply impoverished.
The 86-year-old is expected to meet victims of the conflict, as well as the country’s political and church leaders, between prayers and an outdoor mass that is expected to draw large crowds
