Pope Francis on plane to Kenya

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis has started his 7-hour journey to Kenya where he is expected to arrive at 5pm. He is aboard an Alitalia plane AZ 4000.

Other Vatican officials and a number of international journalists accredited to cover Pope Francis for his five-day visit of Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic are on the same flight.

Pope Francis flew out of Rome on the first leg of a landmark trip to Africa that is fraught with security risks.

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Pope Francis arrives at the Airport and departs for Africa. PHOTOS BY AFP 

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The 78-year-old pontiff, the third pope to visit the continent, is also scheduled to visit Uganda and the troubled Central African Republic (CAR) on a six-day trip.

The final leg of the tour, in the CAR, could yet be curtailed or cancelled depending on security conditions in a country that has been wracked by sectarian conflict in recent years.

A densely packed schedule will see the Pope visit, amongst others, a shanty-town in Kenya, a major Catholic shrine to Christian martyrs in Uganda and both a mosque and a refugee camp in the CAR. He is due to make a series of speeches on various issues including a major one on the environment ahead of the Paris climate change summit.

Journalists on the flight to Nairobi, Kenya