PAPAL VISIT SOUTH SUDAN: “You Are in My Heart” Pope Francis’ Last Words to South Sudanese
Pope Francis on his automobile as he received greetings from people attending closing mass at John Garang Mausoleum
Sr. Henriette Anne FSSA
On his last day of ecumenical visit, Pope Francis wrapped up his Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace with words of encouragement to the people of South Sudan promising to keep them in his heart.
“Dear brothers and sisters, I return to Rome with you even closer to my heart. Let me repeat: you are in my heart, you are in our hearts, and you are in the hearts of Christians worldwide! Never lose hope. And lose no opportunity to build peace.
At the conclusion of Holy Mass at John Garang Mausoleum, the Pontiff expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome given and for the work done to prepare for his visit.
“I have now come to the end of this pilgrimage among you, and I want to express my gratitude for the warm welcome given me and for all the work done to prepare for this visit”,
He further thanked the people of South Sudan for the affection they have shown him, “I am grateful to all of you, brothers and sisters, who have come here in great numbers from various
places, spending many hours, if not days, on the road! I thank you for the affection you have shown me, but also for your faith and your patience, for the good you do and the hardships that you willingly offer to God without growing discouraged but continuing to move forward”.
In his speech the Pope said it is “hope” that he leaves to each person as a gift to be shared and as a seed to bear fruit giving reference to women as a sign of hope in the country, “women, especially here, are a sign of hope, and in a special way I thank and bless all the women of the country.
The Holy Father along with Archbishop Justin Welby and Rev. Iain Greenshields promised to accompany the people of South Sudan on their steps toward peace entrusting their journey of reconciliation to the hands of mother Mary.
“I came here with my brothers Justin and Iain, whom I sincerely thank; we will continue to accompany your steps and do all we can to make them steps of peace, steps to peace. I would like to entrust the path of reconciliation and peace to another woman, the greatest and at the same time the least, the most exalted, and yet the one closest to us, to each one of us. She is our most loving Mother Mary, Queen of Peace. She has accompanied us with her caring and quiet presence, and the statue that depicts her as Our Lady of Africa is here with us,” said Pope Francis.
“We pray to her now, and we entrust to her the cause of peace in South Sudan and in the entire African continent, where so many of our brothers and sisters in the faith experience persecution and danger, where great numbers of people suffer from conflict, exploitation, and poverty. To Our Lady, we also entrust peace in our world, especially in the many countries at war, like Ukraine, which suffers so greatly,” he concluded.
The pastoral trip to the two African countries marked Pope Francis’ third trip to sub-Saharan Africa and the first-ever Papal visit to South Sudan.
Pope Francis departed from Juba for Rome, marking the conclusion of a 6-day Apostolic Journey to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo at 11:56 am local time, carrying the Pope and over 70 journalists.
