Central African

Archbishop Gallagher remembered the time the Pope wanted to visit the Central African Republic and a meeting at which many advisers told him it was too dangerous to go.

Pope Francis visited the Central African Republic in 2015 as he had wanted to.

Mr Boulos, whose son is married to Trump's daughter, Tiffany, said several US companies had expressed an interest in exploiting minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, following his recent trip to the resource-rich central African nation.

His role as peacemaker has also been commended - he went to great lengths to heal divisions following the brutal civil war in the Central African Republic, famously giving a ride on his popemobile to the imam who invited him to pray at a mosque in Bangui in 2015 and kissing the feet of South Sudan's rival leaders four years later.

During his 2015 trip to the Central African Republic, the Pope pressed home a message of peace amid conflict there.