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ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis says he hopes to add the key Mexico-U.S. border city of Juarez to his Mexico itinerary next year, confirming the trip will have a strong immigration theme.
Speaking to reporters en route home from Africa on Monday, Francis said he would begin his trip in the capital, Mexico City, to pray before the Virgin of Guadalupe "the mother of the Americas."
He said he planned to visit Chiapas on Mexico's southern border with Guatemala, where many Central African migrants pass through en route to the United States. He said he was "almost sure" that he would end his visit in Ciudad Juarez, on Mexico's northern border with the U.S. In between, he said he would stop in Morelia.
Church officials have said the trip will begin Feb. 12.
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