Pope Francis greeted members of the Congolese community in Rome, borrowing words from their native languages Sunday to wish them peace and joy during an especially vibrant ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica.
A day earlier, Francis sent a video message to the people and leaders of Congo and South Sudan that exhorted them to forge new paths of reconciliation, peace and development. He expressed disappointment that he couldn’t travel this month but promised to visit as soon as possible.“Today, dear brothers and sisters, let us pray for peace and reconciliation” in Congo, Francis said.
The Catholic Church played a role in the establishment of democracy in Congo and has advocated for human rights there. The church deployed about 40,000 election observers to monitor the 2019 vote that brought Felix Tshisekedi to the presidency in what was Congo’s first peaceful, democratic transfer of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.
At the end of Mass, a nun, Rita Mboshu Kongo, addressed the pontiff in Italian, thanking him for his concern for Africa, wishing him good health and saying that Congo’s people were waiting for him to visit with open arms. Francis, leaning on his cane, hobbled a few steps to his wheelchair, and an aide wheeled him out of the basilica as the faithful waved and sang joyfully.
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