The Pope, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland have today embarked on a historic peace pilgrimage to South Sudan. 

The three Church leaders are travelling to South Sudan at the invitation of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and will meet with him and his five vice presidents in the capital city of Juba.

As well as political leaders, they will meet local church representatives and victims of the civil war living in a displaced persons camp. 

Some 60,000 people are expected to attend a large open-air prayer vigil for peace which the Church leaders will also attend during their visit from 3 to 5 February.

Archbishop Justin Welby said he was "profoundly grateful" to be taking part and asked for prayers.

"Our visit is a Pilgrimage of Peace. We come as servants – to listen to and amplify the cries of the South Sudanese people, who have suffered so much and continue to suffer because of conflict, devasting flooding, widespread famine and much more," said the Archbishop, who will be accompanied by his wife Caroline.

"Over the past three years and even since July, violence has intensified in many parts of the country. We hope to review and renew the commitments made by South Sudanese leadership at the Vatican in 2019, and the commitments they have made to their people since then.

"We come as brothers in Christ to worship together and witness to the God who reconciles us. The communities of South Sudan have a legacy of powerful witness to their faith. Through working together, they have been a sign and instrument of the reconciliation God desires for their whole country and all of creation. We hope to build on and reenergise that legacy.

"This will be a historic visit. After centuries of division, leaders of three different parts of the Church are coming together in an unprecedented way, and in so doing are seeking to be part of answering another prayer – Jesus' prayer – that his followers might be one – 'ut unum sint' (John: 17)." 

South Sudan has been afflicted by civil war and conflict since splitting from Sudan in 2011, leaving hundreds of thousands dead.

The UN estimates that 2.2 million people are internally displaced in South Sudan while another 2.3 million have fled.

Flooding and famine have brought further misery to the country, with some 7.7 million people - or 54 per cent of the population - living with "crisis-level food insecurity", according to an open letter to the UK Prime Minister from Christian Aid, CAFOD and Tearfund ahead of the pilgrimage.

The Presbyterian Church of South Sudan has an official partnership with the Church of Scotland, which supports its Presbyterian Relief and Development Agency.

Moderator of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, Dr Iain Greenshields said: "South Sudan is the youngest country in the world and has enormous potential.

"Its greatest resource is its people and I am humbled at the opportunity to come alongside and support our brothers and sisters in their search for peace, reconciliation and justice.

"It is a privilege to be joining Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury on this historic ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace and we come as servants of the global Church, joined in the unity of the Holy Spirit to offer our encouragement.

"The Churches in South Sudan - Presbyterian, Anglican and Catholic - have an important role to play in supporting efforts to bring peace to the nation and we are honoured to be part of this journey."

The Primate of South Sudan and Chairman of the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), Justin Badi, will accompany the Church leaders on their pilgrimage.

He said, "We appreciate these Christian world leaders for their prayers, and their tireless efforts under the most challenging circumstances, to engage the world in the immense need to stand with the South Sudanese people.

"We pray their visit will remind us as South Sudanese people to repent of our own spirit of violence and mistrust, and to recommit ourselves to true reconciliation, justice and peaceful co-existence."

Coinciding with the pilgrimage, Christian Aid, CAFOD and Tearfund have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urging the UK government to increase its international aid budget and support peacebuilding and resilience in South Sudan and other countries affected by conflict. 

A poll conducted by the three humanitarian agencies found that over half (53%) of the British public agree the UK should be a leader in providing humanitarian aid and peacebuilding in countries facing conflict such as South Sudan.