SECAM: Bishops in Africa Express Solidarity with Pope Leo XIV
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
After Pope Leo XIV disclosed his health condition on Sunday, October 11, after the Angelus prayer, that he would undergo a surgery at Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, Catholic bishops of Africa and Madagascar have assured him of their “heartfelt closeness and prayerful solidarity” as he prepares to remove a small nodule from his lung.
In his message on Sunday, the Holy Father told pilgrims that doctors had found “a small, localised nodule in his lung during recent medical examinations, that had been detected at a very early stage.” He added that his doctors believed it was best to intervene and that, following their advice, he had decided to undergo surgery to remove it.
Following this notification, His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), shared solidarity message on behalf of SECAM and the entire People of God throughout Africa and its Islands, acknowledging that news of the operation “has naturally caused concern among the faithful across the continent,” but the Church in Africa was responding “with hope and trust in God’s providence.”
“Your Holiness, please be assured of the filial affection and constant prayers of the Church in Africa,” the Archbishop of Kinshasa wrote addressing the Pontiff in a statement dated Monday, October 12.
The bishops entrusted the Pope to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, praying that she would accompany him through the operation and recovery and obtain for him renewed strength, good health, and a full and speedy recovery, so that he would continue his “Petrine ministry in the service of the universal Church.”
Cardinal Ambongo invited all bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and lay faithful across Africa and its islands “to unite in fervent prayer for the Holy Father,” asking that Eucharistic celebrations, personal prayers, and ecclesial communities express the continent’s communion with the Pope.
He also expressed hope that the moment would “renew the Church in Africa in its love for the Successor of Peter and its commitment to pray for Your ministry.”
According to the Vatican News, the Holy Father was admitted on Tuesday, October 13, and the Holy See Press Office director Matteo Bruni disclosed that after the operation the recovery period will be about one week.
Vatican further pointed out after the surgery that the “Holy Father had undergone a successful surgery at Gemelli Hospital, during which doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung.”
Due to this, the Pope’s audiences have been cancelled until 20 October. The Vatican says the Holy See will continue to function normally during his hospital stay, though decisions requiring his signature will be put on hold.
