Pope Francis has commenced a six-day visit to Congo and South Sudan, aiming to bring a message of peace to two countries split by poverty, conflict what Francis has called a lingering “colonialist mentality.”
Aid groups hope that Francis’ trip will shine a spotlight on two of the world’s forgotten conflicts and rekindle international attention on some of Africa’s worst humanitarian crises, amid donor fatigue and new aid priorities in Ukraine.
Also, Francis’ trip will also bring him face-to-face with the future of the Catholic Church. Africa is one of the only places in the world where the Catholic flock is growing, in terms of practicing faithful as well as fresh vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
DR Congo, Francis’ first stop, stands out as the African country with the most Catholics. Half of its 105 million people are Catholic, the country counts more than 6,000 priests, 10,000 nuns and more than 4,000 seminarians.
Pope Francis is expected to land in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
Congolese faithful are clustering to Kinshasa for Francis’ main event, a Mass on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at Ndolo airport that is expected to draw as many as 2 million people in one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Congo and one of Francis’ biggest Masses ever.
The authorities in the country have declared Wednesday a public holiday in the capital, Kinshasa, to allow Catholics to attend the mass.
On the eve of the Pope’s visit, President Felix Tshisekedi met with foreign diplomats in Kinshasa and told them the visit was a sign of solidarity “particularly with the battered populations of the eastern part of the country, prey to acts of violence and intolerance that you are witnessing.”
The trip was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed because of Francis’ knee problems. It was also supposed to have included a stop in Goma, in eastern Congo, but the surrounding North Kivu region has been plagued by intense fighting between government troops and the M23 rebel group, as well as attacks by militants linked to the Islamic State group.
Instead, Francis will meet with a delegation of people from the east who will travel to Kinshasa for a private encounter at the Vatican embassy. The plan calls for them to participate in a ceremony jointly committing to forgive their assailants.
The Pontiff will stay in Kinshasa until Friday before travelling to South Sudan’s capital, Juba.
Francis’ Fifth Visit To The African Continent
This trip marks Pope Francis’ fifth visit to the African continent in his 10-year pontificate. It is all the more important as Francis seeks to make his mark on reshaping the church as a “field hospital for wounded souls” where all are welcome and poor people have a special pride of place.
The second leg of Francis’ trip will bring him to South Sudan, the world’s youngest country where continued fighting has hindered implementation of a 2018 peace deal to end a civil war.
Francis first announced his hope of visiting in 2017, but security concerns prevented a visit and only contributed to worsening a humanitarian crisis that has displaced more than 2 million people.
The South Sudan stop also marks a novelty in the history of papal travel, in that Francis will be joined on the ground by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields.
The aim of the three-way visit is to show a united Christian commitment to helping South Sudan make progress on the implementation of the 2018 accord.
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