Arrival in Gabon (17 February 1982)

On Wednesday, 17 February 1982, the Holy Father arrived in Gabon, where he addressed the President, the Bishops, and all Christians, speaking to them as a Pastor, to "ensure the unity of all the Churches in faith and charity."
 

Mr. President,
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,
And all of you, dear Christians and dear sons of Gabon,

1. Africa is such a vast continent that I would have to travel there constantly to see it all! Each country has its particular history, very ancient and very recent, human and religious, which deserves to be better known, respected and loved. I am very happy to say again here that my first pastoral visit to Africa, in May 1980, taught me a lot and left me with unforgettable memories. I remain deeply grateful to the people who welcomed me so warmly.

But I am now in Gabon! Your expectations are met and mine too! Let us already thank divine Providence for having arranged all things, at the time marked by It, so that this historic encounter is possible and fruitful.

2. I am very moved to open my arms and my heart to each and every one of you, as a brother to his fellow men, as a friend to his friends, as a Father to those who are Sons of the Church Catholic. I turn first to you, Mr. President, and I thank you very cordially for having done everything in your power to allow me this stay of an essentially pastoral nature. I fraternally greet the Archbishop of Libreville and the bishops of Franceville, Mouila and Oyem. I greet all the delegations of Christian communities. Their enthusiastic and comforting welcome makes me think of the crowds that fill the audience hall or St. Peter's Square in Rome every week, and of the large assemblies of my previous apostolic trips to you in Africa, as well as in North and South America, in Europe and the Far East. The Church of Christ is very much alive and a great breath of fraternal communion animates it more and more, the expression of which is favored by modern means of communication. Precisely it is to all the Gabonese held back by their obligations in the cities and the countryside, and who hear me on the radio or see me on television, that I send a joyful greeting. I also want to evoke the memory of your ancestors, of all those generations who shaped the history of your people. And as you were able to do brilliantly in 1966 for the centenary of his death, I want to pay fervent tribute to the person and the decisive work of Monsignor Jean-Rémy Bessieux. It was truly he who, after his landing at Fort d'Aumale on September 28, 1844, set in motion the missionary epic and the cultural development of your country, the first in black Africa to receive the Gospel. Your loyalty to the memory of Monsignor Bessieux will always be one of the sources of your unity.

3. Without prolonging this speech too much, I would nevertheless like to emphasize in what spirit I come to you. It is only as a Pastor, specially charged, following the Apostle Peter and all his Successors, to ensure the unity of all the Churches in faith and charity. Every Shepherd must know his sheep and make himself known to them. Jesus was quite explicit about this duty. I must share with your bishops the concrete knowledge of the realities that make up your life as a Gabonese. They most certainly condition your reception and your practice of the Gospel, and therefore the adapted pastoral care that your bishops strive to implement. Come to know and receive, I also have to bring you. I would like my humble presence, confirming the ministry of your Pastors, to be seen as a new sign that God loves you, and that He always invites you to make an alliance with Him with a view to the liberation of your hearts and your minds. This remains the essential condition to free yourself ever more from the burdens of contemporary materialism and other social miseries. I would also like you to better appreciate the happiness and security that your fidelity to the center of Catholicity represents. Finally, I wish to make you feel that you occupy a full place in the vast concert of local Churches and that the quality of your ecclesial life has a certain repercussion on the Sister Churches. In short, during these days of meeting, the truth of our exchanges will promote the spiritual growth of people and communities, and will deepen the communion between you and me, between the Church in Gabon and the Churches throughout the world, thanks to this symbolic and effective presence of the Successor of Peter in the midst of your own bishops who are his Brothers, Successors of the Apostles.

I hope and ask God that we live all our meetings in this spirit. And I also entrust the good will of all and my ministry among you to the protection of the Virgin Mary, specially honored in the oldest Church in Libreville, built by the piety and care of the unforgettable Monsignor Bessieux. God bless Gabon!

© Copyright 1982 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana