“I am happy to listen to you recount the joys and pastoral trials that you bear with fidelity. Your closeness to the people of God is a living sign of the Gospel,” the 267th Catholic Pontiff said during the June 16 audience with CEM members.
He continued, “I encourage each of you in your episcopal ministry, in particular to take care of the Priests, who are your first collaborators and your closest brothers, as well as of the men and women Religious who spend themselves in service.”
The Holy Father went on to recognize with appreciation missionaries to Madagascar, who facilitated the planting of Catholic faith in the Indian Ocean Island nation. He said, “I give thanks for the missionary vitality of your particular Churches, heirs to the testimony of the saints who, in bringing the Gospel to this distant land, feared neither rejection nor persecution.”
He recalled early missionaries in Madagascar, including Henri de Solages, the first missionary who he said “was not discouraged by failure and imprisonment,” and the holy martyr Jacques Berthieu, whose blood he said was the “seed of Christians in Madagascar.”
“May their example continue to strengthen you in the gift of yourselves to Christ and to his Church, amid the successes and pastoral trials that you experience in reaching the people of God in the different realities of your dioceses!” the Holy Father implored.
In his June 16 address, Pope Leo XIV further urged the Catholic Bishops in Madagascar to follow in the footsteps of the late Pope Francis in the care of the common home.
He said, “I invite you to take care of our common home, to preserve the beauty of the Great Island, whose beauty and fragility have been entrusted to you. The care of our home is an integral part of your prophetic mission. Take care of the creation that groans and teach your faithful the art of protecting it with justice and peace.”
“Dear brothers, go forward in your service with courage and hope. The Successor of Peter accompanies you with his prayers and his affection. May the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Madagascar, protect you,” the Pontiff said.
He implored, “May Blessed Raphael Rafiringa, Blessed Victoire Rasoamanarivo, Saint Jacques Berthieu, and all the saints of your land intercede for you. I bless you from my heart.”
Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.
