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Thirteen new cardinals will be created this Saturday, October 5th at the Vatican. Among them, Archbishop Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa.
With our special envoy to the Vatican, Geneviève Delrue
The thirteen archbishops who are about to be made cardinals are all men of Pope Francis. This is the case of the Archbishop of Kinshasa, Bishop Fridolin Ambongo who, at the age of 59, walks in the footsteps of Cardinal Monsengwo. His nomination is a message from Pope Francis to the Churches of Africa. By elevating to the rank of cardinal the architect of the democratic transition in the Congo and the tireless defender of the Congolese people, the pope promotes a model of the Church at the service of man, social justice and peace. The one embodied by the National Conference of Bishops of Congo .
More than eight months after the disputed results of the presidential election, the presbytery of this Saturday also offers the protagonists of Congolese political life the opportunity to display a moment of unity. On St Peter's Square in Rome, President Felix Tshisekedi and his unfortunate opponent in the presidential election, Martin Fayulu, will attend the High Mass that will give their country and Africa a new cardinal.
Like Bishop Fridolin Ambongo, the future Cardinals are committed field clerics. Some are invested in the reception of migrants, like Father Michael Czerny, 73 years old Canadian Jesuit, under-secretary of the Dicastery in charge of integral human development, or of the Guatemalan bishop Alvaro Ramazzini who raised against US migration policy.
Others work for interreligious dialogue, particularly with Islam, such as the new president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Msgr. Miguel Ayuso Guixot, or the Archbishop of Rabat, Ms Cristobal Lopez Romero. With this sixth consistory of the pontificate, more than half of the voters of the next conclave will have been appointed by Francis.