The Pope has asked for a prayer for all those who tried to cross the Sahara «in search of a little freedom» without succeeding during the flight that takes him to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as reported by the Vatican.
«Right now we are crossing the Sahara. Let us think a little, in silence, a prayer for all those people who, in search of a little consolation, a little freedom, crossed it and did not succeed,» the pontiff said on board the A359/ITA Airways plane that took off at 8:29 a.m. from Fiumicino airport and is scheduled to land at Kinshasa International Airport at 3 p.m.
He has also regretted that so many people suffer arriving at the Mediterranean Sea after having crossed a desert and are taken to ‘lagers’ (concentration camps) and suffer there.
The Pontiff also referred to his mobility problems due to osteoarthritis in his right knee, which forces him to move around in a wheelchair, and regretted not being able to walk along the aisle of the plane to greet accredited journalists. «I would like to do the tour, but I can’t today. I don’t know, I can stay here, but I’m a little embarrassed to have all of you here…. We can wave from afar, I don’t know…», he said.
Francis — who is going to Africa for the fifth time in his almost ten years of pontificate — said it was a «precious trip. In the agenda of the July trip, which was postponed due to his knee problems, the Pope was scheduled to visit Goma, but finally that stage had to be canceled for security reasons.
In fact, his trip comes two weeks after a bomb attack on an evangelical church that left 17 dead in that area. «I also wanted to go to Goma, but with the war you can’t go. there. It will only be Kinshasa and Yuba. From there, we will do everything,» the Pope has pointed out in this regard.
The Pontiff thanked the journalists for their work «which is so good» and «helps so much» because «it gets people interested in the trip.»
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
