Pope Francis visits Greece and Cyprus in the first week of December 2021. He announced this in an interview with the Argentine news agency Telam. According to some Italian media, his visit aims to draw attention once again to the fate of the refugees, who are being put to the test especially in the winter months.
The trip will take place from 3 to 5 December, but details about the program have not yet been announced. It is still unclear whether the pope will visit another refugee camp on the island of Lesbos. Shortly after the start of his pontificate in april 2016, he already travelled to the Greek island of Lesbos. There he also met the Ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Athens Hieronymos.
Pope Francis told Telam in his interview that he would also like to travel to Africa and Oceania in 2022. He may also visit East Timor and Papua New Guinea, a trip that was forced to be cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.