One million people celebrated a papal mass in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the second day of Pope Francis’ visit to the conflict-ridden country.
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One million people celebrated a papal mass in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the second day of Pope Francis’ visit to the conflict-ridden country.
Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images
LAGOS, Nigeria — An estimated one million people attended an open mass by Pope Francis in Kinshasa on the second day of an important trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A sea of people sang “viva papa”, as Pope Francis arrived in his papa’s mobile, for an open Mass he did at the main airport in the capital Kinshasa.
The landmark trip is the first visit by a pope since 1985 and sparked festival-like celebrations in the country with the largest Catholic population in Africa.. About half of the DRC’s 95 million people.
But the visit also struck a somber note. The Pope is keen to highlight the impact of decades of conflict by armed groups, and a bloody offensive by the M23 rebel group in the east of the country.
On his first day in the country Tuesday, he made an impressive speech condemning what he called “economic colonialism.”
“Hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo! Hands off Africa! Stop suffocating Africa, it is not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be stolen,” said Pope Francis.
The Pope repeated this message in the outdoor Mass. He made a passionate denunciation against violence – and called for those armed groups, who call themselves Christians, to lay down their arms.
Pope Francis blesses those in attendance as he meets with the victims of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at the Apostolic Nunciature in Kinshasa.
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Pope Francis blesses those in attendance as he meets with the victims of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo at the Apostolic Nunciature in Kinshasa.
Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images
More than 6 million people have been displaced by years of violence in the region. In some particularly moving scenes, the Pope met with victims of rape and violence and preached forgiveness.
“My pain is your pain” he told them.
This story originally appeared in NPR News.
