Pope Francis will receive and hold a private audience with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski this Friday at the Vatican, the Holy See Press Office announced Tuesday.
The hearing with the South American leader will take place months before the
pontiff's trip to Peru, scheduled for
January 18-21, 2018. His Holiness' tour will include the cities of Lima, Puerto
Maldonado and Trujillo.
At the private audience, the President will formalize the invitation for Pope Francis to visit the Inca nation next year.
This will be the first time Jorge Bergoglio will meet with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who took office in July 2016.
Prior to his arrival in Lima, the Argentina-born Pope will visit neighboring country Chile on January 15-18.
The pontiff —who has just returned from a historic trip to Colombia to promote reconciliation in that country— will lead an apostolic tour to Asian nations, including Burma (November 27 to 30) and Bangladesh (thru December 2).