More than 1m faithful expected at Papal Mass in DR Congo

A day after his arrival in Congo, Pope Francis is scheduled to celebrate a public Mass on Wednesday morning, with more than one million faithfuls expected to attend.

The service with the pontiff, expected to be one of the highlights of Francis’ pilgrimage to Central and East Africa, takes place on the grounds of a military airport.

Already after landing in Kinshasa on Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of people cheered the Pope along the roadside as he drove in a convoy from the airport to the city centre.

After the morning Mass, Francis in the afternoon was due to meet victims of violence brought to Kinshasa from the east of the country.

Violence has recently escalated in the border region with Rwanda, where rebels are repeatedly carrying out attacks.

Afterwards, Francis plans to meet representatives of aid organisations.