Pope Francis plans to visit his native Argentina in 2024, local media reports – ThePrint –

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Pope Francis, who has not visited his home country Argentina since he left for the Vatican a decade ago, said he planned to visit in 2024, local media reported on Sunday.

“I always wanted to return,” Francis told Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper.

If the trip takes place, it would be a year following the general election in October of next year.

“Don’t link me to Argentine politics, please,” the leader of the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Roman Catholics is quoted as saying.

The Vatican was unavailable for immediate comment.

The pope’s homeland is battling 100% annual inflation and near 40% poverty.

Francis is Latin America’s first Catholic leader. He hasn’t yet returned to Argentina but has traveled abroad on multiple occasions, including in Africa.

(Reporting from Lucila SIGAL in Buenos Aires, Additional Reporting by Francesca Landini at Milan; Editing done by Lisa Shumaker).

Disclaimer: This is an auto-generated report from the Reuters News service. ThePrint does not hold any responsibility for its content.