Pope Francis to Visit Mexico In 2016, Vatican Reveals

Oct 07, 2015 02:35 PM EDT

Pope Francis plans to make his first official trip to Mexico next year, a Vatican spokesman said on Tuesday, announcing the Argentine pontiff's latest visit to the Americas.

Francis made a "homecoming" tour of Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay in July, and visited the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island of Cuba and the United States last month. His first trip abroad after his election in 2013 was to Brazil.

"I can confirm ... that a project exists for @pontifex to visit Mexico in 2016," Vatican spokesman Manuel Dorantes said, referring to the pope's official Twitter account, which has more than 7.5 million followers.

Dorantes, writing on his @TweetingPriest account on the social media site, added that Francis, who is also due to visit his native Argentina next year, would visit Mexico City's Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.