ROME - Pope Francis left the Vatican for a long voyage to Chile and to Peru Monday. The journey marks the 22nd time that the pope has left Italy to pay a visit to Catholic people around the world.

 After almost 16 hours of flying, the Alitalia aircraft carrying the pope is expected to land at midnight today, at 20.00 pm local time.

 This morning the pope tweeted “I ask you to accompany my trip to Chile and Peru with prayer,” and was caught by journalists waving happily to those who saw him off on the journey.

 In Chile, the pope will visit the capital and Temuco, meeting the Mapuche indigenous people, as well as Iquique in the north. In Peru, he will travel to the capital Lima and Trujillo, hit last year by the devastating floods of ‘El Nino’ that reportedly killed over 70 people.