During his 7 hour flight to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pope Francis greeted journalists and expressed his gratitude for the much-anticipated trip to the country.
POPE FRANCIS' COMPLETE GREETING IN ENGLISH:
Good morning and welcome everyone.
Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. I've been waiting a year for it...It will be a nice trip. I also wanted to go to Goma, but with the war, it wasn't possible. I'll only visit Kinshasa and Juba and we will do everything in those places. Thank you for being here with me, all of us together. Thank you for your work, that is so helpful because you bring your pictures and reflections from the trip to those who are interested. Thank you so much.
I would like to do go around to greet you all today, but I can't. I don't know, maybe I can stay here. But I am a little ashamed to have you all come here to me...Or we can greet each other from afar. I don't know...Thank you.
Right now we are crossing the Sahara. Let's take a little moment, in silence, to pray for all the people who, looking for some comfort and freedom, crossed the desert, but did not make it. So many suffering people who come to the Mediterranean and, after crossing the desert, are taken to camps and suffer there. We pray for all those people.
Thank you.
KG
