By RFIPalled on 06-09-2019Modified on 06-09-2019 at 06:50

This Friday afternoon, thirty years after John Paul II, Pope Francis will tread the land of Madagascar. "Sower of peace and hope" is the message chosen for this historic five-day visit. If Madagascar was chosen by the Holy See, it is because the country corresponds to the great challenges of pastoral care that the Pope wishes to put in place at the international level: a pastoral care directed towards the issues of social justice, peace and 'ecology. The pope arrives in a country beset by an unprecedented impoverishment where expectations and hopes are great.

It is impossible in Madagascar to establish a precise map of religions as practiced in the country. The law prohibits surveys from questioning the population about their religion and ethnicity. Also, advanced statistics here and there are of little value.

On the other hand, it is possible to give some trends. The presence of Christians is largely in the majority on the island. The Catholic and Protestant religions are those that share the greatest number of faithful.

Catholicism bears the brunt of competition from other religions

The capital has become over the years a high place of implantation of Protestantism (with its churches FJKM and FLM); Catholic churches, they are widely and historically present in the bush.

However, Pope Francis arrives in a context where his church faces a big religious competition. " Catholicism has become the favorite hunting ground for sects, " says Sylvain Urfer, a Jesuit missionary living on the island for more than 40 years. " As these are institutions where the public is extremely mobile ," he continues, " we have no idea what these movements represent numerically ."

Another development is the rise of Islam, financed mainly by the Gulf States and Pakistan. "They buy people" confided a year ago Cardinal Desire Tzarahazana to our colleagues at the site Aid to the Church in Need. " We see young people going to study in Saudi Arabia and when they come back to Madagascar, they are imams. [...] that's what's happening because of poverty here. He concluded.

To comfort its faithful and its bishops, to recreate a proximity while pushing them a little on the foundations and the depth of their faith: this is probably the biggest mission of François in Madagascar, a country where 75% of the population lives under the threshold of poverty.

► To listen too : The fight against poverty at the heart of the Pope's next trip to Madagascar

The expectations of Malagasy Catholics: testimonials

Malagasy people waiting for Pope Francis' visit: listen to their testimonies

06-09-2019 - By Laetitia Bezain

In the neighborhood of Andohalo, the chapel of Blessed Victory Rasoamanarivo never fails.

Albertine, 59, came to pray in this place that Pope Francis will visit tomorrow. " The Pope's visit to Madagascar gives us a lot of joy. It's as if the savior had come. That's what I feel. What I expect is that it brings with it peace in all its forms because we Malagasy people are suffering a lot, "says Albertine RFI

Danièle, retired also dreams of a more stable country. " This is the second time that a Pope comes here and I hope that this time insecurity will no longer exist in Madagascar. I really want to see him and touch his hand if it's possible. "

A few kilometers away, in the villages of Akamasoa founded by the Argentine priest Pedro Opeka, the expectations are numerous too. The pontiff will go there Sunday afternoon. Ravo is a gardener. " I would like the coming of the Pope to strengthen my faith and give me the energy to work again so that I can have more money because I am alone to raise my children. "

Marie, 48, is working with other seamstresses to make flags with the image of the Vatican. " What I want is for the pope to tell the leaders to look at the poor because until now they have forgotten us, the weakest ones. "

Pope Francis will meet the President of the Republic and address the leaders and civil society on Saturday morning.

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