VATICAN CITY, NOVEMBER 16, 2018 (CISA)-Pope Francis is set to visit the cities of Rabat and Casablanca in Morocco in March, 2019.
According to an announcement made on Tuesday, November 13 by Greg Burke the Director of the Holy See Press Office, the visit is in response to an invitation by King Mohammed VI, and the Catholic bishops of Morocco.
He will be the second pope to visit the country, after St. Pope John Paul II visited in 1985.
Morocco, which is located on the north-west side of Africa, is a majority Muslim country. The total population, was around 29 million in 2014 with an estimated 21,000 Catholics, less than one percent of the total population.
The country has two archdioceses; in Ribat, the country’s capital city, and in Tanger.
“For us who want to live and deepen the communion between us and the Moroccan people, Pope Francis’ visit will be a magnificent opportunity to show and live our communion with the Bishop of Rome and, through him, with the universal Church”, says Archbishop Cristóbal López of the Catholic Archdiocese of Rabat on the behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Morocco.
The archbishop is also convinced that the Popes’ visit will promote interreligious dialogue especially between the Muslims and Christians.
