Today Pope Leo XIV units off on his first journey to Africa. He desires to journey to 4 nations inside ten days. There was no pontiff earlier than him in Algeria, and he took half in a peace assembly in Cameroon.
No pope has ever visited Algeria earlier than. The journey to the most important nation in Africa by way of space additionally has a private that means for Pope Leo XIV. Because that is the place Augustine of Hippo comes from.
Pope Leo entered the Augustinian Boys’ Seminary in Chicago on the age of 14 and is a member of the Augustinian Order.
Travel as an indication of Christian-Muslim Dialogs
“This Pope’s trip is not a simple pastoral visit,” says Algerian director Rachid Benhadj. “It is a historical and spiritual gesture of great importance, that of a pope, an Augustinian, who decides to go to the very country where Augustine was born.”
Benhadj dealt intensively with Augustine of Hippo for a movie mission: “In Algeria, Augustine founded the first Christian monastic community and transformed his father’s house into a place for community life and spiritual research.” One might subsequently say that “the first monastery in history” was the home of the daddy of Saint Augustine, says Benhadj.
A reality that’s typically forgotten within the West, however even in Algeria many will not be conscious of its historic significance. Only 0.2 % of the inhabitants are Catholics and Islam is the state faith. Therefore, the journey is primarily an indication of Christian-Muslim dialogue.
Pope visits disputed area in Cameroon
From Algeria, Pope Leo will journey on to Cameroon. He desires to participate in a peace assembly in Bamenda, within the north of the nation. For about ten years, a battle has been simmering between the English-speaking north of the nation and the Francophone central authorities within the capital Yaoundé.
For Paul Beitzer from the Catholic growth assist group Misereor, it’s fairly stunning that Pope Leo is touring there, as there are all the time fights between separatists and the Cameroonian navy within the area: “This is definitely a very clear and strong signal that Bamenda was also chosen.” This is already having constructive results, says Beitzer: “For example, the roads that lead to Bamenda have now been repaired and modernized. The city’s airport, which was closed for years after 2016, has now opened its doors again to enable the Pope to fly to Bamenda.”
Also journey to Angola and Äquatorialguinea
On the sixth day of the journey we go to Angola. The nation is characterised by demonstrations and strikes in opposition to Prime Minister João Lourenço. Half of the roughly 38 million inhabitants are thought of poor, though Angola is wealthy in uncooked supplies equivalent to oil and diamonds. The Pope’s go to is meant to shine a highlight on the social scenario within the nation.
The final cease on this African journey takes Pope Leo to Equatorial Guinea: simply 1.6 million inhabitants, however round 75 % of them are Catholic. Among different issues, the pontiff desires to go to a jail and speak to prisoners. The small nation in Central Africa has been ruled authoritarianly by Teodoro Obian Nguema Mbasogo since 1979, who has severely restricted many fundamental rights.
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