Church in South Sudan Invited to share in Pope Francis' "pilgrimage of peace" During Visit

He adds, "Let us continue to pray for peace in our country. Peace is not simply a goal or a future achievement. It is a path: a narrow path. And we have to walk that way all along and all together. We won’t cross the finish line unless we start the journey and we keep walking together."

In his message, the member of the Comboni Missionaries (MCCJ) who was ordained Bishop of Rumbek on March 25 shares the joy of celebrating his first Christmas as Prelate in South Sudan.

"I thank God for giving me the joy of celebrating Christmas in Rumbek this year. And I also thank each one of you for being here and nurturing the birth of baby Jesus in our communities," the Italian-born Bishop who has ministered in South Sudan since 2005 says.

He implores, "May the celebration of Christmas bring us together to be the family of God."

Bishop Carlassare’s Christmas tribute in his poem, "What is Man", is an invitation for the people of God in South Sudan to live in solidarity, letting go of their "tribal instincts". Here is the poem:

What is Man? 

At Christmas I ask for no other gift than this 

as your human face Lord, I seek 

thus, let my eyes contemplate it 

and my hands touch it 

and the heart rejoices at his beauty. 

Haven’t you seen me? 18 times I have been born in Africa for you my son and this time you will find me abandoned under a Rumbek tree 

dark-skinned child gathered in the arms of a young girl 

do not disdain my condition because of my brothers 

discarded and sold for a pair of sandals or so. 

(Story continues below)

That's where I am born and nowhere else, so unexpectedly 

among humiliated people, slumped in the mud with broken legs 

victims of subtle violence and reckless lust for wealth 

I am born among people determined to raise and make peace 

defending dignity, bearing witness to the truth, doing justice. 

If we are deprived of the grace of your face there is no remedy for humiliation and in fact, there can be no reflected beauty in the world 

if there is no emancipation from the tribal instincts of friend against enemy and one learns to live solidarity among the humiliated as a way of life 

recognizing, in the transparent gaze of child Jesus, the reflection of a brother and sister.