Where Pope Francis will be in Kenya and Uganda

It will not be the first papal appearance in either country: the pope’s predecessor John Paul II travelled to Kenya three times, while Uganda was the first African country to be visited by a pope, with Paul VI going in 1964.

Security officials from Uganda and an advance team from the Vatican visit the Anglican Sanctuary of the Martyrs, which Pope Francis is expected to visit later in the week, at Namugongo, a suburb in the east of Kampala, in Uganda Monday, November 23, 2015. “The Pope’s messages and actions during his visit can help alleviate the suffering of millions of Africans who are often at the mercy of abusive security forces and armed groups”.

Festive Christmas celebrations seem hypocritical in light of the violence, bloodshed, and hate that plague the world, says the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church.

Pope Francis condemned the “senseless violence” of Friday’s terrorist attack on a hotel which killed at least 22 people in Mali, and prayed for the “conversion of hearts”. Francis travels to Kenya and Uganda, where many conservative Christians bristle at the idea of the West forcing its morality on them, especially when it comes to gays and lesbians.

Catholicism is growing faster in Africa than anywhere else on Earth.

“In the early 21st century, Africa is arguably the most consequential corner of the global map for Catholic fortunes”, said a commentator this week on Crux, a Catholic news site.

Rooted in traditional cultures, many African Catholics have conservative values that might not align with Francis’ measured gestures of tolerance toward, for example, homosexuals. Homosexual sex is illegal in many of African countries and discrimination against homosexuals is prevalent through the continent.

The Pope’s Kenya visit will conclude his Kenya tour with the coverage of the pontiff’saddress to the youth at Nairobi’s Kasarani stadium where Barack Obama also addressed an estimated 300 000-strong crowd while on his visit in July.

While it’s a jarring message at the start of the holiday season, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Francis.

“But I would think if the Pope was here and talking about love, compassion and equality for everyone, Ugandans will listen”.

“The pope, the message he brings across is to say, ‘You Africans are also equally important'”. “We know his style is not one of condemning and he’s somebody who is very compassionate”, Okello said.