Pope Francis has embarked on his 40th Apostolic Journey abroad, and his fifth to Africa, as he left Tuesday for a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of South Sudan.

“I greet with affection those beloved peoples who await me,” the pope said in a Jan. 30 tweet before he left. “I ask everyone, please, to accompany this journey with their prayers.” 

Francis arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to begin his journey. This marks the first visit from a pope to Kinshasa since John Paul II visited in 1985. He will go to South Sudan, and then he will return to Italy on Friday, according to Vatican News. 

At this end of this trip, Francis will have visited 60 countries since the beginning of his papacy. He has visited other countries in Africa, including Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic in 2015 and Egypt in 2017. He traveled to Morocco in March 2019, followed by Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius in September of the same year, according to Vatican News. Africa is home to about 20% of the world's Catholics, and the number of Catholics on the continent is on the rise. 

Francis was to meet with President Felix Tshisekedi before addressing a crowd of about 1,000 people, including political and religious leaders Wednesday. The pope is expected to call for a stop to the violence that has claimed the lives of millions over the last two decades, especially due to the dangerous conditions in Eastern Congo, according to Anadolu Agency. There are plans for Francis to speak to thousands of young people, as well as meet with victims of violence from the turbulent eastern Congo.

The pontiff was to preside over an open-air liturgy expected to gather 1.5 million people to Kinshasa's secondary airport, N'Dolo, on Wednesday. Kinshasa Province Police Commander Sylvano Kasongo called on 7,500 police personnel to ensure Francis' safety at the airport, according to Anadolu Agency.