Pope says he hopes to keep promise to visit native Argentina for first time since becoming pontiff

Pope Francis said Sunday that if he can, he'll visit his native Argentina in the latter part of 2024, a trip that would see him there for the first time in his nearly 11-year-old papacy and while his fellow Argentines are suffering economically.

Francis hasn't been back to his homeland since he was elected pope in 2013.

In an interview with the host of a talk show on a private Italian TV channel, Francis said he is worrying about Argentina’s people because “they are suffering much,” an apparent reference to the ravaged economy in that country.

From his residence at the Vatican, Francis, 87, told the interviewer on the show “Che Tempo Che Fa” that he plans to visit Polynesia in August and that an Argentine trip would come sometime after that this year.