Pope at Mass in Mongomo: Humanity hungers for justice and peace
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV presided at Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in the eastern city of Mongomo on his second and penultimate day in Equatorial Guinea.
The city of around 7,000 residents sits just one kilometer from the border with Gabon, is the birthplace of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, and hosted several Cup of Africa soccer events in 2015.
In his homily, Pope Leo recalled the missionaries who began to evangelize Equatorial Guinea 170 years ago and pointed to the words of Pope St. Paul VI in 1969: “Africans, from now on, you are missionaries to yourselves.”
He thanked the many missionaries, priests, religious, and lay people who have become signs of God’s love.
“Through the example of their lives,” he said, “they have played their part in bringing about the Kingdom of God, unafraid of suffering for their fidelity to Christ.”
The Pope encouraged Equatoguineans to make a personal commitment to follow Christ and to carry out charitable works for the good of their neighbors.
“Such a commitment requires perseverance; it demands effort and, at times, sacrifice,” he said. “Yet, it is the sign that we are truly the Church of Christ.”
Despite facing persecution or difficult family situations, Christians must trust that the Lord makes the seed of His Kingdom grow and therefore show God’s love for those around them, said the Pope.
God’s love, he added, will strengthen those who proclaim His name and bear witness to Him with joy.
Pope Leo went on to reflect on the hunger that Equatorial Guineans and all people feel in their daily lives: hope.
“There is hunger for a future imbued with hope that is capable of engendering a new sense of justice and producing fruits of peace and fraternity,” he said. “This is not an unknown future that we must passively await, but rather one that we ourselves are called to build with God’s grace.”
He invited Equatoguineans to contribute to the future of their nation with their choices and commitment to “safeguarding the life and dignity of every person.”
The Pope recalled that Equatorial Guinea has been blessed with natural resources, which include extensive offshore petroleum and natural gas deposits, as well as largely untapped buried minerals like gold, diamonds, and uranium.
This natural wealth, he said, should be made a blessing for all Equatoguineans through their integral development, renewal, and transformation.
“May the Lord help you to become a society in which everyone, each according to their respective responsibilities, works ever more fully to serve the common good rather than private interests, bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged,” he said.
In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV urged the Christians of Equatorial Guinea to take their country’s destiny into their own hands, proclaim the Gospel, and help build a future of hope for their nation.
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