Pope Francis will visit Kenya on November 25 and leave for Uganda two days later, the Vatican said on Thursday.
He will arrive in the Central African Republic, the final stop on his first trip to Africa, on November 29 and end his visit the next day.
In June, the Argentine pontiff told a gathering of priests from around the world that he wanted to go to Kenya but that the visit was “uncertain” because there were “organisational problems”.
Francis did not explain further what these problems were, but was speaking two months after al Shabaab killed 148 people and injured several others in an attack at Garissa University College.
The AFP reported that Francis’ trip to the continent was delayed by logistical challenges including the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2013, that left at least 11,300 people died.
Kenya, Uganda and CAR have significant numbers of Catholics and have been affected by civil conflicts and violence, the news agency noted.
Violence flared up in CAR in March 2013 when mostly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power, sparking reprisals from anti-balaka, or anti-machete, Christian militia, who then drove the bulk of the Muslim population out of the south.
Francis will commemorate pope Paul IV’s 1964 canonisation of the first African saints on his trip to Uganda; 22 people were killed in 1878 for refusing to renounce Christianity, following orders by a local ruler.
The Pope has visited Europe, Latin America and parts of Asia since he was elected in 2013.
