The Vatican ;has officially announced the pope's first international trip for 2018: Chile, from January 15-18, and Peru from the 18-21.
Surely this was one of the topics that the pope spoke about with the bishops of both countries when they visited Rome during their ad limina visits. The pope met with the bishops from Chile in February, and with the Peruvian bishops in May.
Pope Francis will therefore return to Latin America without going to his homeland. In Chile, he will visit the capital Santiago, Temuco and Iquique and in Peru he will pass through Lima, Puerto Maldonado and Trujillo.
It will be the pope's sixth trip to Latin America. He has already been to Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico and he will visit Colombia in September of this year.
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