Pope recalls Africa trip to reiterate message of peace in wartime

Vatican City, Apr 29 (EFE).- Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday recalled his recent trip to Africa during the general audience, saying it was aimed at delivering a “message of peace” at a time marked by wars and frequent violations of international law.

The pontiff said he was grateful to have made the visit as a pastor to encourage the faithful and promote peace amid global tensions, speaking in St Peter’s Square.

(Camera: DANIEL CÁCERES).

FOOTAGE OF THE GENERAL AUDIENCE OF POPE LEO XIV IN ST PETER’S SQUARE, VATICAN CITY.

SOUNDBITES: POPE LEO XIV (IN ITALIAN).

TRANSLATION:

- I thank the Lord for granting me the opportunity to undertake this journey as a pastor, to meet the people of God and encourage them, and also to experience it as a message of peace in a historical moment marked by wars and by grave and frequent violations of international law.

- Providence willed that the first stage be precisely the country where the sites of Saint Augustine are located, namely Algeria. Thus, on the one hand, I found myself returning to the roots of my spiritual identity, and on the other, building and strengthening very important bridges for today’s world and for the Church. A bridge with the fruitful era of the Church Fathers. A bridge with the Islamic world. A bridge with the African continent. Providence willed that the first stage be precisely the country where the sites of Saint Augustine are located, namely Algeria. Thus, on the one hand, I found myself returning to the roots of my spiritual identity, and on the other, building and strengthening very important bridges for today’s world and for the Church.

In Algeria, I received not only a respectful welcome, but also a warm one, and we were able to see firsthand—and show the world—that it is possible to live together as brothers and sisters, even of different religions, when we recognize ourselves as children of the same Merciful Father.

The visit to Cameroon allowed me to strengthen the call to commit ourselves together to reconciliation and peace, because, unfortunately, that country is also marked by tensions and violence. In Cameroon, the great needs of the entire continent are reflected: the need for a fair distribution of wealth, the need to give space to young people by overcoming endemic corruption, and the need to promote integral and sustainable development, opposing the various forms of neocolonialism.

Angola, a great country south of the Equator (…) God has guided and purified the Church, making it ever more a servant of the Gospel, of human development, of reconciliation, and of peace. This hope requires concrete commitment, and the Church has the responsibility, through its witness and the courageous proclamation of the Word of God, to recognize the rights of all and to promote their effective respect.

The last country I visited was Equatorial Guinea, 170 years after its first evangelization. I cannot forget what happened in the prison of Bata, in Equatorial Guinea.

The inmates sang at the top of their voices a hymn of thanksgiving to God and to the Pope, asking him to pray for their sins and for their freedom. I had never seen anything like it. The Pope’s visit is, for the African population, an opportunity to make their voices heard.