At 7:15 a.m. on September 13, 2022, the flight carrying Pope Francis, his entourage and accredited journalists took off from Fiumicino Airport for Nur-Sultan, the capital of Kazakhstan. Thus began the 38th apostolic journey of Francis.
Located in Central Asia, the country borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, and Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to the south. It has an area of 2,724,900 sq km and a population of about 19 million. Located along the ancient Silk Road that connected China to the Middle East and the Mediterranean, the territory was historically inhabited by nomadic peoples, and today its population includes about 30 nationalities and ethnicities.
Part of the Soviet Republic of Turkestan from 1917 to 1925 and an autonomous republic since 1926, Kazakhstan in 1936 became a republic of the USSR, from which it gained independence in 1991, after the dissolution of the latter, becoming part of the newly formed Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1994, Nur-Sultan, when it was still called Tselinograd, was chosen as the future capital of Kazakhstan by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, for geographical, economic and environmental reasons, in place of Almaty. It officially assumed the role of capital in 1997, and in March 2019 it changed its name again to Nur-Sultan, to pay homage to former President Nazarbayev, who is also responsible for its renovation and expansion.
Mnamo Septemba 13, 2021, wakati wa saa 7:15 asubuhi, ndege iliyokuwa na Papa Francis, msafara wake na waandishi wa habari waliohitimu iliondoka uwanja wa ndege wa Fiumicino kuelekea Nur-Sultan, mji mkuu wa Kazakhstan. Hivyo ndivyo safari ya 38 ya Ujumbe wa Mtume ilivyopangwa na Papa Francisko. Nchi hiyo iko katika Asia ya Kati, na inapakana na Urusi kaskazini na magharibi, China mashariki, na Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan na Turkmenistan kusini. Ina eneo la kilomita 2,724,900 za mraba na idadi ya watu karibu milioni 19. Mji huo uliokuwa kwenye Barabara ya kale ya Hariri, ambayo iliunganisha China na Mashariki ya Kati na Bahari ya Mediterania, ulikuwa na watu wa asili ya watu wa asili ya China, na leo una watu wa mataifa na makabila 30. Tangu kuanzishwa kwa Jamhuri ya Turkestan ya Sovieti mnamo mwaka wa 1936 na Jamhuri ya Uhuru ya Kazakhstan mnamo mwaka wa 1926, Kazakhstan imekuwa jamhuri ya USSR, ambayo ilipata uhuru mnamo mwaka wa 1991, baada ya kufutwa kwa mwisho, na kuwa sehemu ya Jumuiya ya Madola ya Uhuru (CIS). 1994 - Nursultan, wakati bado aitwaye Tselinograd, alichaguliwa kama mji mkuu wa baadaye wa Kazakhstan na Rais Nursultan Nazarbayev, kwa sababu za kijiografia, kiuchumi na mazingira, badala ya Almaty. Mji huo ulibadilishwa jina na kuwa Nur-Sultan mnamo Machi 2019 ili kumheshimu Rais wa zamani Nazarbayev, ambaye pia ni wajibu wa ukarabati na upanuzi wake.