Pope Francis will travel to Kazakhstan from September 13 to 15 to participate in a congress on dialogue between religions, the Vatican confirmed on Monday (August 1).
The pontiff will travel "
to Kazakhstan from September 13 to 15, visiting the city of Nursultan on the occasion of the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions
", announced in a press release the spokesman of the Holy See, Matteo Burnished.
The Kazakh presidency had already announced in April the visit of the pope on the occasion of this congress, which aims to promote dialogue between religions, the first edition of which was held in 2003.
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On Saturday, returning from his trip to Canada, the 85-year-old pope, reduced by severe knee pain forcing him to move around in a wheelchair, said he could "
no longer travel
" at the same pace as before, also evoking the possibility of “
putting oneself aside
”.
However, he had confirmed that he wanted to go to Kazakhstan, a “
quiet trip, without too much travel
”.
The largest country in Central Asia, Kazakhstan is on the border and diplomatically close to Russia, which is currently leading a military offensive in Ukraine, against which the sovereign pontiff has spoken several times.
