Thank you, Pope Francis, for your Visits to the Heart of our Country, the Republic of South Sudan

Thank you, Pope Francis, for your Visits to the Heart of our Country, the Republic of South Sudan!

 Dear Sisters, Brothers, Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, Western Equatoria Family Members, and all the beloved people of South Sudan.

Receive my heartfelt greetings from Yambio, just about two weeks after the memorable visit of Pope Francis to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, Hiroshima.  The Republic of South Sudan is the 8^th country on our African Continent visited by Pope Francis.

We live this moment of grateful memory with the attitude of Mary Mother of God who, in her immaculate heart, ‘pondered’ and knew how to see the action of God who ‘puts down the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly’ even in dramatic events” begins the brief celebration. 

Amidst the national, regional, continental, and worldwide turmoil of violence civil in all continents, and the growing number of local wars, we are glad to witness the humble but powerful moral authority of the successor of St Peter for local, national, and world peace. We are happy and humbly proud, that our diocesan family was much involved in both apostolic visits in many ways and at different levels!

As the family of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, we led a successful visit to Juba covering over 468 miles with over 300 pilgrims drawn from all over the diocese. All faiths, Protestant churches, Muslims, and Catholics who made the majority walked together under the theme: “Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio together with Pope Francis for PEACE”! This was one of the greatest moments I ever enjoyed as well as my faith as they mingled up together marching to meet their Good Shephard, Pope Francis.

What is the take-home message from Pope Francis?

Pope Francis spoke volumes through his empathy, and personal interest in the marginalized in society, and for victims of our highly competitive and of times ‘merciless’ society. He was not talking to Catholics alone but to all South Sudanese people. And the way he was ‘teaching’ was through very loving attention to the people. He touched the hearts of all. The Pope’s visit was a time for Catholic-faithful to “revive their own faith and for other non-Christians to think about what Christianity is.

One of his homilies is a magnificent missionary lesson and inspiration for all of us: “… Story and vocation of Moses with the people of Israel ….

He is simply calling for missionary hearts who can see their faces, their wounds, their smiles, and their lives and make them experience the merciful balm of God’s love that heals their wounds and pains. Pope Francis challenges us with his consistent call to become missionary disciples and discover and recognize with joy the faces of all around us as one human family.

We are all aware that today our individual houses and all of us have received a great blessing from God which places a seal of grace on the Revitalized Peace Agreement in South Sudan and obliges us to work for peace! We recognize that this visit is a priceless gift for our suffering Nation, a unique and unforgettable historical event, and, at the same time, a commitment, a new call that strengthens us in the responsibility to live today with daring and courage, the educational national call to make peace a must and as a response to the emerging challenges to prepare the stable and peaceful future of South Sudan.

The encounter is for all of us also a confirmation of the concern and affection of the successor of Peter for all humanity.

Vote of thanks:

I sincerely thank our Holy Father, Pope Francis for all the abundance of blessings and riches

I thank His Grace Bert Van Megen our Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan and Mons Jonut the Charge d’affair Apostolic Nunciature Juba for their tireless and high commitment to getting everything done well as planned.

Thank you to our Bishops’ Conference and all our staff and above all our Government of South Sudan and all our friends for making the event happen. May God bless you all!  I cannot forget the love and confidence given to us by our AMECEA Region with an actual presence among at the occasion, I thank them all!

Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala

Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio