Late in 2011, soon after his inauguration as Pope of 1.2 billion Catholics and a beacon to other religious leaders of several denominations, Francis received Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh at the Vatican, in a gesture of welcome and goodwill. This visit from the royal head of the Church of England to the Catholic Pope did not go unnoticed.

What is more challenging would be a visit by our Pope to the Falkland Islands after the fallout of the 1982 war, where hundreds of British and thousands of Argentine servicemen lost their lives. The implications are unimaginable.

It is just as bold and challenging for the Pope to visit the United Kingdom, while memories of the Falklands debacle are still fresh.

More significant is Pope Francis’s delay in revisiting his native Argentina, where memories of the Dirty War and the ‘disappeared’ citizens of the 1970s and 1980s remain.

The Holy Father says he is keen on revisiting his native Argentina but does not yet know when. In Argentina, he has thousands of friends and supporters but also hundreds of enemies. Thus, a visit there will be fraught with the possibility of unknown. He would easily receive a tumultuous welcome but there could also be opposition that would not be easily subdued.

Only the Holy Spirit knows when the time would be opportune for such bold journeys by Pope Francis. He evidently needs more prayers on our part, support and immense goodwill.