Francis is the first pope to visit Congo since John Paul II in 1985, when it was still known as Zaire. About half of Congo's population of 90 million are Roman Catholics.
KINSHASA, DR Congo – Pope Francis landed in Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, January 31, for a visit that will highlight the human cost of decades of conflict in the vast central African country, which is rich in minerals but where millions are displaced and live in poverty.
After a welcome ceremony and a meeting with President Felix Tshisekedi, the 86-year-old pontiff will give a speech to authorities, diplomats and representatives of civil society. Congo has some of the world’s richest deposits of diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum and lithium, but its abundant mineral resources have stoked conflict between militias, government troops and foreign invaders. Mining has also been linked to inhumane exploitation of workers and environmental degradation.
An estimated 5.7 million people are internally displaced in Congo and 26 million face severe hunger, largely because of the impact of armed conflict, according to the United Nations.
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