The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, will make their long-awaited Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan from February 3-5.

The visit was due to take place in July last year, but was postponed after the Vatican announced that the Pope would not be able to travel on advice from his doctors.

The Moderator said: “It is a privilege to be joining the Holy Father and the Archbishop of Canterbury on this historic Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace to South Sudan; we come as servants of the Global Church, to accompany the people in South Sudan as they seek to give expression to Jesus’ words that ‘blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.’”

The central events of the Peace Pilgrimage will be a meeting with internally displaced persons in Juba’s Freedom Hall and an Ecumenical Prayer meeting at the John Garang Mausoleum. During their time in South Sudan, each of the three leaders will also have a number of other encounters with local church and civic groups.