Day Seven in Africa: Pope invites Angolans to begin anew, loving with a mother's heart
By Claudia Torres – Luanda, Angola
Pope Leo XIV only held two public events on his seventh day in Africa, but that didn’t detract from the day’s intensity or the people’s enthusiasm.
Holy Mass in Kilamba
The first event was Holy Mass in Kilamba, a planned urban development about 30 kilometres from the Angolan capital. People from different parts of the world gathered for the liturgy on Sunday, 19 April, despite the intense heat and high humidity.
In his homily, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel passage about the disciples who encounter the Risen Jesus but fail to recognize him on the road to Emmaus.
“In this opening scene of the Gospel,” said the Pope, “I see a reflection of the history of Angola, of this beautiful yet wounded country, which hungers and thirsts for hope, peace and fraternity.”
He noted that “the conversation along the road between the two disciples, who reflected with sorrow on what had happened to their Master, brings to mind the pain that has marked [Angola]: a long civil war with its aftermath of enmities and divisions, of squandered resources and poverty.”
Given this difficult context, the Pope urged Angolans “to begin anew,” knowing that the Lord accompanies them and has compassion on them, as He did with His disciples. After Mass, he prayed the Regina Coeli with the assembly. He expressed closeness to the people of Ukraine amid intensified attacks and appealed for dialogue and diplomatic efforts in Lebanon.
Praying the Rosary at the Mamã Muxima Shrine
In the afternoon, tens of thousands of faithful gathered in Muxima, the most important pilgrimage site in Angola, to pray the Rosary with the Holy Father. Nearly 130 kilometres from Luanda, it houses the shrine of Mamã Muxima, meaning Mother of the Heart, the Kimbundu name the people of Angola reserve for the Virgin Mary.
Fr Daniel Malamba, a Divine Word Missionary, explained that “for the faithful in Angola, Mamã Muxima is everything.” Angolan religiosity is firmly rooted in love for her, he said, which is why so many people wanted to see the Pope alongside Our Lady.
Many of the faithful expressed their joy at the opportunity to join the Pope in honoring Mamã Muxima. “She listens to our prayers” and is there “for all the problems that we have,” said Conceição António, who was there with a group of pilgrims.
Fernanda, a volunteer helping out at the event, said many people had arrived days earlier, camping out in tents to prepare to welcome the Holy Father.
Their patience was finally rewarded when Pope Leo arrived in a helicopter from Luanda. He prayed inside the chapel at the shrine and left white flowers at the foot of the statue of Mamã Muxima. He then sped through the crowd in the popemobile, people cheering and running after him, trying to get as close as possible to the Successor of Peter.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope told the people present that praying the Rosary commits one “to loving every person with a mother’s heart—concretely and generously—and to dedicating [oneself] to the good of one another, especially the poorest.”
Addressing young people, he urged them to work towards a world free from war, injustice, poverty, and corruption. "It is love that must triumph, not war," he said.
The Holy Father then returned to the Apostolic Nunciature in Luanda for the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment