Pope Francis begins his apostolic journey to Africa this week. He is going to the Democratic Republic of Congo this Tuesday, January 31, then to South Sudan on Friday. His arrival in Kinshasa is…

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In the DRC, the visit of Pope Francis raises many expectations

A mass is celebrated in the Notre Dame du Congo cathedral in Kinshasa, January 22, 2023. AFP - ARSENE MPIANA

Text by: Véronique Gaymard Follow

4 mins

Pope Francis begins his apostolic journey to Africa this week.

He is going to the Democratic Republic of Congo this Tuesday, January 31, then to South Sudan on Friday.

His arrival in Kinshasa is eagerly awaited when he was supposed to go there last July, his trip had been postponed for health reasons according to the Vatican.

He will not go to Goma in the east because of the conflict, to the great disappointment of the populations victims of the attacks in the region.

A visit a few months before the presidential election to be held in December.

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of our special correspondent in Kinshasa,

There are many expectations in this country of 110 million inhabitants, more than 40% of whom are Catholics - which makes it the largest pool of Catholics in Africa - while evangelical churches or churches of revival are multiplying. .

It is also a country rich in biodiversity and minerals, particularly in the East, which arouses the greed of many armed groups, with tensions which have risen again a notch in recent days, especially over the past year with new offensives by the M23, this armed group accused of being supported by neighboring Rwanda.

“

Alongside natural resources such as the forest, you have the question of clean energies, which require a certain number of minerals that the DRC has,

explains Henri Muhiya, director of the Episcopal Commission for Natural Resources of Cenco.

.
You have cobalt, copper which is in the South-East, in Katanga, but you also have lithium which has not started to be exploited.
When you go further north, where the war is now, you have coltan, cassiterite, but you also have rare earths, especially where the M23 is now.
So people ask themselves the question: are we going to ask the DRC to deliver its resources while the Congolese populations are dying from these conflicts?
This is a bit of the situation that the pope finds here.
We hope that his message can challenge the rulers of the world.

During his trip scheduled for July, the pope was to go to Goma in North Kivu, where the M23 movement is increasing its offensives.

For security reasons, this step has been removed;

a great disappointment for the populations of the East who are suffering from the violence, but François will receive a delegation of around sixty victims and displaced persons and should launch an appeal to stop the war.

This visit also comes in an election year, the pope could plead for a good organization of the elections scheduled for December.

Because the Catholic Church is very involved in social and political rights, a long tradition which remains rooted in CENCO, the National Episcopal Conference of Congo.

The Church in the DRC, "it's a State within the State", explains a faithful

Veronique Gaymard

A message of peace and reconciliation

It is therefore above all a message of peace and reconciliation that the Congolese are waiting for, as underlined by Monsignor Marcel Utembi, president of the Episcopal Conference of Congo.

“

The pope is always sensitive to what is happening in the sub-region, but particularly in the DRC.
By launching messages of compassion, solidarity, even if necessary, to denounce all these crimes in the region.
We think that the pope, as a pilgrim of peace, will certainly have a message of questioning, of denouncing evil, violence and calling on the various stakeholders to get along, to be peacemakers instead.

We hope that his visit will change something

The economic situation is precarious for most of the inhabitants of Kinshasa, especially the young people whom the pope will meet Thursday morning at the Martyrs stadium, they hope that the message of the pope will have an impact on their rulers, like André who runs a shop in the street.

“

Life is difficult, because before it was not like that.
Now we are fighting to survive.
I stopped the university, I plan to resume next year.
I am in the process of organizing myself to have money, because it takes money to pay university fees, transportation, food, you have to do calculations.
As the pope comes to help us, to encourage us, to speak with young people, we hope that his visit will change something.
What we want are jobs.

Miriam, a teacher, sees it as a support visit for the Congolese.

“

The pope’s message?
A great message of reconciliation, a message of peace, of comfort, a message of everything in the end, because in our country nothing is going well.
Like that, the pope comes to support us.

The highly anticipated highlight will be the mass at the completely refurbished Ndolo airport, where more than a million people are expected.

In the DRC, the visit of Pope Francis raises many expectations

In the DRC, the visit of Pope Francis raises many expectations

A message of peace and reconciliation

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