Thousands of people braved heavy rain on Thursday to take part in Pope Francis’ open-air mass at a university campus in Kenya’s capital on the pontiff’s first visit to Africa. The front page of Nairobi-based daily The Star, featured the pope’s arrival on Wednesday, where he was welcomed by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
In his Thursday sermon, the pontiff insisted on the need for inter-religious harmony and the importance of strong family ties. Earlier, Francis urged the country’s leaders to work with “integrity and transparency” — an allusion to the corruption that blights Kenya.
“I ask you in particular to show genuine concern for the needs of the poor, the aspirations of the young, and a just distribution of the natural and human resources with which the Creator has blessed your country,” Francis said.
The pontiff’s six-day trip will also take him to Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR). There have been security concerns ahead of the African trip, though Francis said he was “more afraid of the mosquitoes.”
