Pope Francis has arrived in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, kicking off his 40th Apostolic Journey abroad, and his fifth to Africa.

He left Tuesday for a trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to 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.” 

This marks the first visit from a pope to the Democratic Republic of the Congo since John Paul II visited in 1985. Francis will then travel to South Sudan, then he will return to Italy on Friday, according to Vatican News. 

With this trip, Francis will have visited 60 countries since the beginning of his papacy. He has previously visited other countries in Africa. In 2015, he traveled to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic. He went to Egypt in 2017. He traveled to Morocco in March 2019, followed by Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius in September that year, according to Vatican News. About 20% of Catholics call Africa home, and the number of Catholics on the continent is on the rise. 

Francis met with President Felix Tshisekedi before addressing a crowd of about 1,000 people, including political and religious leaders, on Wednesday. The pope was 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 at an open-air liturgy that drew an estimated 1.5 million people to Kinshasa's secondary airport, N'Dolo, on Wednesday. Kinshasa Province Police Commander Sylvano Kasongo had 7,500 police personnel on hand to ensure Francis' safety there, according to Anadolu Agency.