Manzini, 22 June, 2023 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
The June 16 encounter with Pope Francis during the Ad Limina visit of members of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) was a source of blessings, Bishop José Luís Gerardo Ponce de León of Eswatini’s Manzini Diocese, the only Catholic Diocese of the Southern African landlocked nation, has said.
In a Wednesday, June 21 reflection, Bishop Ponce de León recalls the Papal encounter, the same day that the Holy Father had been discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Hospital following an abdominal surgery.
“We were blessed to meet him (Pope Francis). The moment he came out of the car, he looked as if he was coming from another meeting and not from the hospital,” the Catholic Bishop says, and adds in reference to SACBC members, “We were also conscious that it was more than fair for him to rest after a major surgery.”
But to the surprise of the Catholic Bishops from the Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa, the Holy Father requested to meet them after lunch, Bishop Ponce de León has recalled in his reflection, adding, “It was beautiful to see all the Bishops dropping everything they were doing and running to be ready.”
“In our hearts, it was not just about us. It was also about the Dioceses we represent and the people who had been praying with us during the (Ad Limina) visit,” the Argentine-born member of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC) who has been at the helm of Manzini Diocese since his installation in January 2014 says.
