- Cecilia Macaulay and Aleem Maqbool
- BBC News
The first visit of the Pope to the Congo in forty years
Some one million people attended Pope Francis’ mass in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to some estimates.
Huge crowds had gathered since the predawn hours, among them dozens of schoolgirls dressed in white and dancing along the path that the Pope crossed.
The country has declared today a public holiday, so that as many people as possible can attend.
This is the first time that the Pope has visited the mineral-rich country, which is riven by conflicts, in nearly 37 years.
It is estimated that around a million people gathered for the open-air Mass at Ndoli Airport.
Pope Francis’s six-day visit to Congo is his second visit to Africa. About half of Congo’s population is Catholic.
image copyright AFP
Large crowds during the mass of Pope Francis
The mass was attended by a choir of 700 people, which began rehearsals long before the Pope’s visit, which was scheduled for last July. But the Pope’s visit had to be postponed due to his health condition.
The visit saw some complaints that the pope had not been as critical of the political leadership as some had hoped, but the Mass at Ndoli airport was a joyful event, with a powerful message of peace from the pope.
Speaking at the mass, the pope called for peace in the Congo, saying that the warring parties should forgive each other and that each side should grant its adversaries “the pardon of the great heart”.
He continued his sermon, noting the benefits of purifying hearts of “anger, remorse, and every trace of rancor and enmity.”
image copyright Archyde.com
The Mass in Kinshasa witnessed moments of joy and joy
It is believed that the mass that was organized on Wednesday is one of the largest public masses headed by the Pope, following his mass in the Philippines in 2014, according to Christopher Lamb, correspondent for the Catholic magazine “The Tablet”, in Rome.
In an interview with the BBC’s “Newsday” radio programme, Lamb said Catholicism was growing in Africa: “This is the future of the Catholic Church, and its growth in Africa is very important for Catholicism in the years to come.”
image copyright AFP
The Pope’s reception in the Congo has been described as lively
On Tuesday, the Pope met with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, and delivered a speech in which he condemned the historical exploitation of Africa’s resources, describing it as “economic colonialism.”
He also touched on the plight of the Congo, and the role that minerals have played in the armed conflict that has been going on for more than three decades, saying: “Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! to loot.”
image copyright AFP
Half of the Congolese population is Catholic
On the other hand, the pope’s visit to Goma, in the east of the country, was canceled for security reasons.
The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is witnessing an escalation in violence, as it is the scene of fighting between the security services and armed militias.
According to the United Nations, some six million people have been forced to flee their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is one of the largest waves of displacement in the world, along with other countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Ukraine.