Catholic Leaders in South Sudan, DR Congo Express “great joy” Over Planned Papal Visit

In their collective message signed by CENCO’s President, Archbishop Marcel Utembi, the Catholic Bishops implore, “We pray for the Holy Father and entrust this visit to the Lord so that it may be carried out as announced and take place in good conditions.”

They further implore, “We invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Congo and our Blessed Isidore Bakanja and Clementine Anuarite to intercede so that this apostolic visit will be a blessing for our Church and our People.”

On his part, the Archbishop of Kinshasa, Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo describes the planned Papal trip to the Central African nation as “a priceless gift that the Lord is giving to our country, to our people, a people who are going through difficult times today.” 

“I express my gratitude to the Holy Father for having accepted to make a pastoral visit to our dear country, the DRC, from 2 to 5 July. The Family of God in Kinshasa is looking forward to this visit. Thank you, His Holiness, for coming to strengthen our faith,” Cardinal Ambongo says in a March 3 tweet.

In his four-day pastoral visit to DRC, the Holy Father is scheduled to meet the people of God in the cities of Kinshasa and Goma. In South Sudan, he is to spend three days in the country’s capital, Juba, the Director of the Holy See Press Office said in his March 3 statement.

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“The program and further details of the Journey will be announced in due course,” Mr. Bruni added.

According Archbishop Stephen Ameyu of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese, the Pope is visiting South Sudan to demonstrate his “solidarity with the people of this country.”

In a Catholic Radio Network (CRN) report dated March 3, Archbishop Ameyu has been quoted as saying, “The Pope’s apostolic trip to Juba is also because he is in solidarity with the people of this country.”

Information about Pope Francis’ visit to South Sudan dates back to 2017 when the Holy Father expressed his desire to undertake an ecumenical visit to the world’s youngest nation alongside the head of the Anglican church.

That year, the initiative was halted reportedly because of heightened violent clashes in different parts of South Sudan amid a serious humanitarian crisis.

The Holy Father reiterated his desire to visit the country in April 2019, during the spiritual retreat that brought together the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit, the opposition leader, Riek Machar, and the widow of South Sudanese leader John Garang, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior, among other political and religious leaders from South Sudan.

Last December, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States said that the wish by Pope Francis to visit South Sudan had received “great support”.

When realized, the July 2-7 pastoral trip to the two African countries will mark Pope Francis’ third visit to sub-Saharan Africa. 

The journey will mark the first time a Pope has visited the world's youngest nation of South Sudan and the third Papal visit to DRC, the latter being home to Africa's largest Catholic population.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Jim Wallace, are reportedly expected to join Pope Francis for the South Sudan pastoral trip.

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The South Sudanese Minister in the office of the President, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, has said that the government of South Sudan will cooperate with Church leaders and the Vatican to ensure that the Papal visit is successful.

“The government and the people are very happy to hear that Pope Francis is ready to visit the country this year,” the South Sudanese government official has been quoted as saying in the March 3 CRN report.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.