Holy Mass in Bata (18 February 1982)

On Thursday, 18 February 1982, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass in Bata, Equatorial Africa. In his homily, the Pope spoke of his purpose in coming to them “to promote the work of evangelization also in your lands.”

Beloved brothers and sisters.

1. In this Piazza della Libertà we find ourselves gathered in the name of Jesus, to listen to his word which continues to bring us the Good News of salvation, to confess our common faith in him and celebrate his renewed presence in the Eucharist, which is food on our pilgrimage towards our definitive homeland.

It is comforting to think that here, among us, there is the Master, Christ. With the Pope who comes to you with great pleasure for the first time; with your beloved Pastor Monsignor Rafael María Nzé, who suffered so much for the Church; with the native priests, men and women religious of Equatorial Guinea; with the missionaries who have come fraternally to help you in the cause of the Gospel; with all of you, beloved brothers and sisters of Equatorial Guinea, both from the continent and from the islands.

Those who are here or those who join us through social media. I greet you all with the apostle Paul, wishing for you "grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (1Cor 1,3).

2. Yes, the Lord is with us, united in love with the common Father and moved by the grace of his Spirit.

He is close to those who are members of the universal Church of Christ, since "the one people of God is present in all the nations of the earth, since from among all the races he takes his citizens, citizens of a kingdom which for its nature is not of the earth but of the sky” (Lumen Gentium, 13).

This is a first feeling that fills us all with profound joy and gives us new security. In fact, this ecclesial community has within itself a dimension of catholicity that is essential to it, which can never be forgotten and which transcends the geographical boundaries in which it visibly manifests itself.

For this very reason, if you live in this ecclesial attitude, your spiritual horizon can never be reduced to the limits of a group, diocese or territory, but must be open to this fraternal vastness in Christ, "head of all things in the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who is realized entirely in all things" (Eph 1:22ff).

3. The Pope wished to come to you to promote the work of evangelization also in your lands. This evangelization which means growth in faith, generous dedication to the service of the dignity of every man and fidelity to Christ and to his Church.

I come to visit you as a brother and friend, as a representative of Christ in whom you already believe, as a herald of his message of salvation and a sower of courage for your Christian community.

Driven by the evangelizing mission that falls upon me, I come to this Church which is part of the flock of Christ, entrusted to me as the successor of Peter. I therefore wish, in imitation of the apostle Paul, to rejoice in your perseverance in the Gospel "which you have received, in which you stand firm, and from which you also receive salvation, if you maintain it in that form in which I preached it to you" ( 1Cor 15,1s).

4. Today we want to give thanks to God, because the seed that the first missionaries sowed in 1645, and which was only spread more continuously and widely later, has borne abundant fruit. They are reflected in the predominantly Catholic composition of the members of the dioceses of Bata and Malabo.

Our mind can imagine how many hardships and sacrifices the missionaries who followed one another had to face - Capuchins, diocesan priests, Jesuits and above all Claretians - who, faithful to the Master's mandate to teach all people (cf. Mt 28,19) , they tried to show their brothers the path to salvation. It is therefore right that we pay here a tribute of gratitude and esteem to this extensive work of evangelization which little by little has laid the foundations of the Church among you.

5. But at this moment we must thank the Lord doubly because not only the number of believers in Jesus Christ has reached current levels, but because this local Church is governed by a Pastor native to your land, who enjoys my trust and your affection, and because the dioceses of Malabo and Bata already have fourteen priests and eight native religious men, as well as numerous nuns.

But this does not cover the needs that the situation entails, and therefore they are joined by almost twenty Claretian missionaries and more than a hundred men and women religious sent by the "Federaciones de religiousos españoles de la Enseñanza y de la Sanidad", who provide their valid help in educational and welfare services.

To all of you, dear brothers from Equatorial Guinea or from abroad, I would like to express my profound gratitude for the commitment you place in your task of evangelization. I fervently ask the Lord to enlighten your heart "to make you understand to what hope he has called you, what treasure of glory his inheritance among the saints contains" ( Eph 1:18).

6. All Guineans, whether by origin or adoption, you are engaged in an undertaking to which God calls you without distinction. In fact, this Church to which you generously dedicate your life is the sheepfold whose door is Christ (cf. Jn 10,1-10), it is the field of God (cf. 1Cor 3,9), it is the building of God (cf. 1Cor 3,9), she is the bride of Christ (cf. Eph 5,25s) she is his mystical Body (cf. 2Cor 5,17), she is the People of God (cf. Lumen Gentium , 9 ).

This consideration must arouse all the enthusiasm and dedication of which you are capable, certain that you are serving God and not men. United, therefore, in the task which belongs to everyone and which excludes no one, we seek above all the greater good of the Church and the best service to render to the majority of our brothers. I am sure, for my part, that obedient to the "message you have heard from the beginning: that we love one another" (as Saint John reminds us in the first reading of this Mass), you will generously receive collaborators in the evangelizing mission who come from outside, and that they will offer their help willingly, in a spirit of service and promotion of genuine indigenous values.

The work of evangelization tends by its nature to make each Church capable of standing on its own strength. Not to then close itself off, but to become an evangelizer of the other Churches itself. Thus each one demonstrates her full maturity in faith by giving to others what she received during her growth phase. May God grant that this day comes soon for the Church in Equatorial Guinea.

7. But while waiting to arrive at greater consolidation as regards the agents of evangelization, your Church has already given consoling proofs of maturity and fidelity to the Lord. There are many of your brothers who have been able to courageously bear witness to their Christian faith, even in the midst of persecution. And if there were cases of weakness, there were far more wonderful examples of constancy in one's intimate religious convictions.

These examples must serve as a stimulus and push you to continue with renewed vigor in the teachings of the Gospel: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Perhaps tribulation, anguish, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, the sword?... in all these things we are more than conquerors through the virtue of him who loved us" ( Rm 8,35.37) .

With the help of the Lord, therefore, in whom you can do everything, give new impetus to the integral Christian life. As Saint Paul reminds us in the letter we read just now, do not live in fornication, libertinism, idolatry, resentment or rivalry, envy or factionalism, but walk bearing fruits of the Spirit, in love, in harmony, in being helpful to each other.

And since you are Christians, be the first to live the meaning of the Beatitudes, making yourselves decisive promoters of mercy, justice, morality and works in favor of peace in your lives.

No one should criticize your conduct for lack of honesty, for exploitation of others, for negligence in your individual, family or social duties; but if they slander you while you do good, while defending your rights with every honest means, above all be sure that your reward in heaven will be great. The word of Christ that we heard in today's Gospel gives us certainty of this.

8. I do not want to conclude this homily without inviting every ecclesial sector to renewed fidelity in the commitment to evangelization.

You, priests and religious, be increasingly aware of your responsibility and your high mission in the Church, which depends largely on your cooperation and your zeal. To this end, rekindle every day the grace you have received with the laying on of hands and with the generous consecration you made of yourselves to an ideal that deserves to be lived with continued fidelity. Convinced therefore of your own identity and of the motivations on which it is based, do not hesitate to dedicate a privileged part of your commitment in the effort to arouse, by all means, vocations of seminarians and souls of special consecration, who can replace you in the work of salvation.

You, non-priestly religious, can equally provide precious help to the Church, through your multifaceted involvement in many fields of apostolate and testimony to which your meritorious contribution must reach.

You, religious, have a vast field in which to deploy the best energies and abilities of your feminine condition. Many achievements can depend on you. Renew therefore, with new love for Christ, your intention of faithful dedication to the Church, to this Church that is in your country. Always obeying the instructions of your Pastor, to whom I have recommended that he follow with particular interest everything that refers to your life and your inclusion in the local Church.

You, lay people all involved in apostolic movements, in particular in that of the "Cursillos de Cristiandad", offer an increasingly decisive contribution to ecclesial life, without being discouraged by the difficulties that stand in your way.

You, catechists and leaders of communities or ecclesial sectors, continue to collaborate for the good of the Church, which receives so much benefit from your responsibility and your desire to be of help to the faith of your brothers. The best way to deepen the meaning of your Christian vocation is to commit yourself to supporting or nurturing the religious life of others.

You, fathers and mothers of families, who live with joy the vocation of collaborators with God in the transmission of life, give an example, before your children and before society, of esteem for the religious and human values ​​that need to be manifested with particular clarity in your environment. Cultivate crystalline morality, inside and outside your home, faithfully guarding the permanent unity of marriage, as the Lord has proclaimed it. May each of your homes be a true domestic Church, where the values ​​and behaviors that I indicated in the apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio shine .

All of you, brothers and sisters in the love of Christ, rejecting fears and uncertainties, build ever more solidly, in your land and in your hearts, the Church of fidelity, the Church of concord, the Church of hope. Most holy Mary, our Mother, always help us in this regard. So be it.

© Copyright 1982 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana