Pope adds Guayaquil to his Ecuador itinerary, July 6 to 8

The Episcopal Conference of Ecuador’s Catholic church says that Pope Francis will visit Guayaquil as well as Quito during his July visit to the country.

Pope Francis

It will be the first papal visit to the country since John Paul II visited Quito and Cuenca in 1985.

Raul Vela, secretary to the Episcopal Conference made the announcement on Friday at a press conference with Ecuador President Rafael Correa.

“It will be a great to have this pope visit Ecuador,” Correa said. “He is a person who transcends the Catholic Church,” he said.

A schedule of the pope’s visit will be announced in May. The will spend three days in Ecuador, July 6 through 8, before continuing on to Bolivia and Paraguay.

Francis will visit the U.S. in September and will travel to Africa later this year. A visit to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina, the pope’s home country, are on the agenda for 2016.