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After Canceling Papal Trip, Pope Francis Will Send Cardinal Parolin to Visit Africa

Cardinal Parolin’s visit will take place July 1-8.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin will travel to Africa in place of Pope Francis next month.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin will travel to Africa in place of Pope Francis next month. (photo: Claude Truong-Ngoc via Wikimedia Commons / (CC BY-SA 4.0))
CNA Staff World

After reluctantly bowing out of his own scheduled trip to Africa in July, Pope Francis has decided to send the Vatican's second-highest-ranking official in his place.

“Following the postponement of his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to South Sudan, His Holiness Pope Francis has decided to send the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to Kinshasa and Juba in order to show his closeness to the beloved peoples of the Congo and South Sudan,” the Holy See’s Press Office announced Monday. 

Cardinal Parolin’s visit will take place July 1-8.

The Vatican first announced June 10 that Pope Francis’ July trip would be postponed for health reasons, particularly his knee. The following Sunday, the Pontiff apologized for postponing his trip because of his knee pain and vowed to reschedule it “as soon as possible.” In his recent public appearances this month, he has either used a wheelchair or relied on a cane.

Pope Leo XIV greets 120,000 people gathered at Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon, for a papal Mass on April 17, 2026.

Pope Leo XIV in Africa

Pope Leo XIV is embarking on his first trip to Africa as Pope next week, with visits to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. What is the Pope’s message? This week on Register Radio we are joined by Fr. Don Bosco Onyalla, editor-in-chief of ACI Africa. And then, the Holy Spirit is at work in Manhattan as astounding numbers of new – and young – Catholics are filling up our churches. Register senior writer Zelda Caldwell has the story.

Matthew Bunson, Shannon Mullen Register Radio

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