VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines is shaping up as an all-English affair.

The Argentine pope plans to deliver all 11 speeches and homilies in English in a major break from his Italian and occasional Spanish norm.

Francis tried out his English a few times during his pilgrimage to South Korea last summer. The Vatican said at the time that the tryout was such a success – Francis even managed to crack jokes off-the-cuff in English – that he would use it more during his second Asian foray.

Francis arrives in Sri Lanka on Tuesday for a two-day visit heavy on calls for reconciliation after the country’s quarter-century civil war. He then flies to the Philippines on Thursday to visit the region hit hard by Typhoon Haiyan. He returns to Rome Jan. 19.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Wednesday that five separate open-air popemobiles will be used during the trip. Francis has eschewed the covered, bullet-proof popemobiles that his predecessors used overseas in favor of open-topped vehicles that he can easily get down from to greet the crowds.

Francis will fly through Chinese airspace, giving him the chance to send a greeting to President Xi Jinping. Vatican protocol calls for such greetings for each country the pope flies over.