Pope Francis Meet Youths in Congo

February 3, 2023218 views0

Pope Francis Meet Youths in Congo

2023-02-03T09:30:55+01:00

By Church News

Pope Francis addressed thousands of youngsters in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday after holding an open-air mass that drew an estimated million faithful, as he pursues a landmark trip to central Africa.

The 86-year-old Argentine pontiff met with youngsters at the 80,000-capacity Martyrs’ Stadium on the outskirts of the capital Kinshasa.

He will then meet Jesuit leaders and priests on the front line of the church’s work in the vast country, which has Africa’s biggest Catholic contingent.

It is the first time since 1985 that a pope has visited the Congo (DRC), a vast but deeply troubled country the size of continental western Europe.About 40 percent of its more than 100 million people are Catholic, according to estimates.On the second day of his trip, the pope hosted a mass at Kinshasa’s airport that organisers said drew about a million people, some of whom had camped out all night to get a spot.He then met victims of conflict in the DRC’s mineral-rich east, some of whom had suffered appalling violence.His face grave, Francis called for mercy from God.“May he convert the hearts of those who carry out brutal atrocities, which bring shame upon all humanity,” he said.He lashed the conflict as being driven by greed and called on combatants to lay down their arms.“Listen to the cry of their blood,” the pope said, alluding to a verse from the Book of Genesis.Scores of armed groups roam eastern DRC, many of them a legacy of two wars at the end of the 20th century that sucked in countries from around the region.Many Congolese warmly welcomed the pope’s message of peace, and some hoped it would bring change.“Darkness will not reign forever,” said Adeline Babwiriza, 53, from the eastern city of Goma, who attended the mass to pray for her family.Francis will take his appeal for peace and reconciliation to South Sudan on Friday for a maiden three-day visit.ALSO READ Pope Francis Reorganizes Rome Vicariate