During the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis prays that four martyrs beatified in the Democratic Republic of Congo may be examples of peace and reconciliation. He asks for continued prayer so that paths of peace may open up wherever war rages.
By Christopher Wells
The martyrdom of four priests in the Democratic Republic of Congo “was the crowning achievement of a life that I gave for the Lord and for my brothers,” said Pope Francis at the end of the Angelus prayer on Sunday.
Xaverian missionaries Father Luigi Carrara and Brother Vittorio Faccin were martyred by militants of the Kwilu rebellion in Baraka on November 28, 1964. Later that same day, the rebels moved to the town of Fizi, where they killed Father Giovanni, a fellow Xaverian, and Abbé Albert Joubert, a Congo-born French priest.
On the occasion of her beatification on Sunday, Pope Francis prayed that her “example and intercession may promote paths of reconciliation and peace for the good of the Congolese people”.
May paths of peace open up wherever wars are fought
The Holy Father also asked for further prayers “so that paths of peace may open in the Middle East, in Palestine and Israel; as well as in tormented Ukraine, in Myanmar and in all war zones”.
He also prayed that such paths to peace would be accompanied by “a commitment to dialogue and negotiation and a renunciation of violent actions and reactions.”
“Joy in the testimony of the Gospel”
Finally, after welcoming and blessing pilgrims and visitors from Rome and around the world, Pope Francis addressed special greetings to the women and girls taking part in the pilgrimage to the Marian Shrine in Piekary Šląskie, Poland.
“I encourage them to bear joyful witness to the Gospel in their families and in society,” the Pope said.
The women’s pilgrimage to Piekary Šląskie
