Pope Francis has broken with papal protocol by kneeling to kiss the feet of South Sudan leaders at the Vatican, CNN reports.
A video released by the Vatican shows an aide on Thursday assisting the 82-year-old Francis, who was breathing heavily, so he could kiss the feet of President Salva Kiir Mayardit. He then moved on to Vice Presidents-designate Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior.
Kiir and Machar were once rivals, with Kiir accusing Machar -- his former deputy -- of staging a 2013 coup. Years of civil war followed. In 2018, they signed a peace agreement in Ethiopia, and they are now attempting to form a stable government together.
