KAMPALA (OSV News): Pope Francis is heaaded for the African continent on January 31 for a historic and long-awaited apostolic trip to Congo and South Sudan, countries longing for peace and stability.
The pope will first travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] from January 31 to February 3 and from there, in what is called the Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace, Pope Francis will visit South Sudan’s capital, Juba, from February 3 to 5 with Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Reverend Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Nyakim Chuol, a South Sudanese refugee living in the Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda, hopes the planned visit by Pope Francis to the youngest country in the world will restore peace and allow her family to return to their country. The camp is one of the biggest in the world and home to an estimated 270,000 refugees.
“We are incredibly excited that Pope Francis is finally coming to our country to bring peace and allow us to go back home,” the 45-year-old mother of three said, adding, “We have suffered for a very long time, and his coming means a lot to us because he is the only hope we have as people of South Sudan.”
She recounted, “On a fateful day, the government soldiers attacked our village and killed almost every man, including my husband,” revealing that she had vowed never to return to her country until peace is restored.
“Hundreds of women were raped, and children kidnapped. I hid at a nearby bush for the whole night and trekked several kilometres to this camp to save the remaining members of my family from death,” she said.
The pope’s upcoming visit has renewed Chuol’s hope of returning home and rebuilding her life.
A visit to an Internally Displaced People camp in Juba is on the itinerary for Pope Francis who, alongside Archbishop Welby and Reverend Greenshields, is expected to interact with refugees and later take part in an ecumenical prayer service at the John Garang Mausoleum. On February 5, the pope will celebrate Mass in the capital before returning to the Vatican.
“We strongly believe that he will leave this country at peace by bringing the warring parties together and help in resolving the problems facing us,” Chuol said.
The South Sudan, home to more than 11 million people, has experienced civil war since 2013, following a power struggle between president, Salva Kiir, and then vice president, Riek Machar.
The bloody conflict quickly took on an ethnic dimension pitting soldiers and members of the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups against each other.
So far, according to various reports, over 400,000 people have died due to the civil war, and over four million have been internally displaced or fled the country.
In September 2018, Kiir and Machar signed a peace agreement. Still, both leaders have disagreed on its implementation, so the civil war continues to affect citizens in various parts of the country.
The 86-year-old Pope Francis is determined to see the country’s peace restored. In April 2019, during a spiritual retreat at the Vatican aimed at ending the violence in South Sudan, Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of Kiir and Machar; a gesture that made headlines across the globe.
An expected to visit the country in July 2022 was postponed for health reasons.
“It’s our time, and the people of South Sudan have a chance to be blessed by the Holy Father when he visits,” Bishop Emmanuel Bernardino Lowi Napeta of Torit said, calling the visit a “historical event.”
“Pope Francis will be coming to see and hear our sufferings and help end the conflict and suffering of the people of this country. We should pray for him and prepare for his coming because this will have a historical effect on the current peace process,” Bishop Napeta said.
“Let’s forgive each other as children of God and be strong in faith,” he urged, noting that he was among the bishops who will be attending Mass with the pope in Juba.
Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba said ahead of the trip that security was well set for the pope’s visit, and millions of South Sudanese were waiting to hear his message of forgiveness, togetherness and reconciliation.
“We expect the pope’s message to reach out to people in the remotest parts of the country through media so that they are all blessed and able to act for the sake of peace,” he said.
“If all of us, including our leaders, embrace the Holy Father’s message of peace and reconciliation, our country will be peaceful forever,” he underlined.
