Salute to the Church of Kisangani, Zaire (5 May 1980)

On Monday, 5 May 1980, the Holy Father visited the Church of Kisangani in Zaire, where he addressed the faithful.

1. I greet you, dear inhabitants of Kisangani, and I tell you my great joy to be among you. Through you, I affectionately greet all my Catholic sons and all the inhabitants of the region.

2.I especially thank your Archbishop, Monsignor Fataki, for the kind words he has just addressed to me. I return him, in a way, the kind visit he had made me in Krakow. With him, I cordially greet all your bishops who welcome me here this evening. With them, I greet all those who have heard the word of God and who strive to put it into practice. I would like to forget no one, but I wish, in a word, to express right now my particular affection for priests, men and women religious and seminarians, for all those who wish to give themselves to God. What is the center of your life? Is this not the call you have heard, the call of the Lord: “Come, follow me”? I pray to bless you. Despite the sacrifices,

And I also address my greetings to all of you, fathers and mothers of families, young men and young women, schoolchildren and children. I have come for the joy of being with you, at least for a few moments, and to tell you again, following your bishops and your priests, that the Lord loves us all and calls us all. I also greet with special affection the sick, the infirm, all those who feel unhappy in soul and in body: the Pope blesses you all.

3. I will simply remind you this evening of a few words from the Lord which should fill us with joy and hope. As a sign that God had truly descended among men, he said: “The poor receive the gospel”, the poor hear the good news of salvation! And he said again: “Come to me, all of you who are crushed under the weight of your burden, and I will restore your strength”.

In coming to you, I wish to remind all the disciples of Christ of this great message of the Gospel which is at the bottom of the love that we have for one another, and I repeat what Saint Paul taught to the first Christians: “The Lord Jesus made himself poor for us, and he enriched us with his poverty”. This still happens today. This is happening at home, in the heart of Africa. Yes, to those who have great difficulty in living, who cultivate with difficulty to have their daily food, who feel powerless, frustrated, to all those who suffer, to those, the Lord gives the life of his grace: God is present with you. That's the main thing. This is what makes the universal Church, which is spread throughout the whole world, and which unites us all. This is what gives strength to be faithful, despite difficulties. So be faithful to the one Church of Christ. See how well they understood this, those among you, among your fellow citizens and among the missionaries, preferred to sacrifice their lives to remain faithful to Christ, to be faithful to the divine life they had received.

I am thinking here especially of two people whose names are well known to you. These are two people who are, for all of us, shining examples of Christian life, joyfully offered to God.

I speak - you know - of Sister Anwarite, whom the Church hopes to be able to beatify soon.

I am also talking about a Zairian catechist: Isidore Bakanja, a real Zairian, a real Christian. After giving all his free time to the evangelization of his brothers, as a catechist, he did not hesitate to offer his life to his God, strong in the courage he drew from his faith and from the faithful recitation of the rosary.

In the name of the Lord, I ask you, when you arrive home, to be proud of them and above all to know how to follow them! I give you an appointment here, tomorrow morning, for Holy Mass, and I bless you with all my heart.

© Copyright 1980 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

 Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana