Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, is visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan in the Pope’s place, following the Pope’s decision to postpone his apostolic journey there at the advice of his doctors.
Cardinal Parolin met on July 5 with Salva Kiir Mayardit, South Sudan’s president since the nation gained its independence in 2011. The South Sudanese Civil War began in 2013; six years later, Pope Francis kissed the feet of the nation’s leaders as he appealed for peace. The war officially ended in 2020.