February 2, 2023 // Vatican

Pope Asks Congo’s Priests, Religious to Be Authentic Witnesses of Faith

Cindy Wooden

Catholic News Service

KINSHASA, Congo (CNS) — The strength and unity of the Catholic community in Congo and its ability to be an effective force for peace and reconciliation depend in large part on the attitudes, witness, and ministry of consecrated women, priests, and religious brothers, Pope Francis said. After an afternoon storm brought wind and rain to the nation’s capital, the pope held an early evening meeting on Feb. 2, with some 5,000 priests, religious, and seminarians gathered inside and outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Congo in Kinshasa. “If we bow before God in humility, He makes us become like Himself, agents of mercy,” the pope said. “If we remain docile in God’s hands, He shapes us to become a people of reconciliation, capable of openness and dialogue, acceptance and forgiveness, who make rivers of peace flow through the arid plains of violence.” That way, he said, “when the stormy winds of conflict and division blow, we are not broken, for we are filled with the love of God. May you always be docile to the God of mercy, never shattered by the winds of division.” Although meetings with priests, religious, and seminarians are a standard item on papal trip itineraries, the gathering in Kinshasa had an additional character because it took place on Feb. 2, the day the church celebrates the World Day for Consecrated Life.