Pope Francis has safely arrived in Kenya on Wednesday, November 25, for his first state visit as Pontiff in the African continent. He was welcomed by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 4:50 pm.
Midway on his flight to the African country, the Pope has tweeted "Mungu abariki Kenya! God bless Kenya!" on his Twitter account @Pontifex. "I go with joy to meet Kenyans, Ugandans and our brothers in Central Africa," he told journalists on board his plane, the AFP news agency reports.
To celebrate his coming, the Kenyan government officially declared November 26 as a public holiday and National day of Prayer and Reflection.
Thousands of Catholics and spectators are expected to line up on streets of the country's capital, Nairobi, to catch a glimpse of the Pope and witness the historical event. When asked if the Pope is scared for his security while in the country, he jokingly answered: "I'm more worried about the mosquitoes," the AFP news agency reports. Up to 10,000 police officers will be deployed during the Pope's stay in the country.
During his three-day stay, Pope Francis will be celebrating mass with the Kenyans. He is also set to meet with the president as part of his post as head of the Vatican state. The Pope has also allotted time to have personal encounters with the different sectors of the society such as the youth, religious leaders, the less fortunate and the members of the diplomatic Corp.
With the hopes of bridging the Catholics and Muslims in Africa, the Pope is also scheduled to go to Uganda and then the Central African Republic afterwards to call for peace and unity especially in regions that are caught between religion-inflicted conflicts and wars.
This is the 11th overseas trip of as Pontiff of Pope Francis since taking office in 2013. Meanwhile, he is not the first pope to visit Kenya, Pope John Paul the II made the country part of his Apostolic Journeys on the years 1980, 1985 and 1990.