As Pope Francis continued on his 40th Apostolic Journey to Africa, he begged people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan to work for peace. 

“Even in the East, peace is possible! Let us believe this! And let us work for it, without delegating it to others,” he said in the DR of Congo, according to reports by the Vatican News. 

Pope Francis was to wrap up his 40th Apostolic Journey on Friday after a visit to South Sudan.

There, he conveyed a similar message: “I beg you, with all my heart, to accept four simple words: not my words, but those of Christ ... 'No more of this!’” the pope said, according to a Reuters report. 

This is the fifth time Pope Francis has traveled to Africa, but it is the first papal visit to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo since Pope John Paul II visited in 1985, Vatican News says. 

Before embarking on the trip earlier this week, he tweeted: “I greet with affection those beloved peoples who await me. I ask everyone, please, to accompany this Journey with their prayers.” 

During his time in the DR of Congo, Pope Francis met with President Felix Tshisekedi and the two addressed around 1,000 individuals, including political and religious leaders. As had been expected, the pope condemned the violence that has claimed the lives of millions over the last two decades, according to Anadolu Agency. The Eastern Congo has seen danger during that time that has displaced and killed many. Pope Francis also met with thousands of young people, as well as with victims of the violence in Eastern Congo. 

Also on Wednesday, more than 1 million people came to N’Dolo, Kinshasa’s secondary airport, to hear Pope Francis lead an open-air liturgy. Anadolu Agency reported that Kinshasa Province Police Commander Sylvano Kasongo ensured the pope’s security by deploying 7,500 police personnel to the airport. 

Pope Francis has visited 60 countries during his tenure as the Catholic Church’s leader. In Africa, he went to Kenya, Uganda, and the Central African Republic in 2015; Egypt in 2017; Morocco in March 2019; and Mozambique, Madagascar, and Mauritius in September 2019, according to Vatican News. 

About 20% of the world's Catholics call Africa home, and the number of faithful there has been increasing in recent years.