VATICAN - Pope at the Angelus recalls his trip to Africa: “There where, like Jesus, missionaries gave, and continue to spend, their lives for the Gospel, abundant fruit is harvested. I would like to express my gratitude for the good that they do.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “The visible joy in the faces of the people, the joy of feeling part of the family of God” and “the strong sense of the sacred that one breathes in the liturgical celebrations” are the two aspects that most left an impression on the Holy Father Benedict XVI during his recent apostolic journey in Africa, as he said prior to the recitation of the Angelus on Sunday, March 29. Saying that he would speak at greater length of his trip during the General Audience this coming Wednesday, the Pope wanted to “thank God, and those who helped in various ways, for the success of the apostolic trip,” invoking “the abundance of the blessings of heaven.” He then recalled “the deep emotion” he experienced in meeting the Catholic communities and the people of Cameroon and Angola, thanking the Lord “for having been able to share moments of simple choral and faith-filled celebration with great numbers of our brothers and sisters.” “The visit permitted me better to see and understand the reality of the Church in Africa in the variety of the experiences and challenges that she finds before her at this time.”
Benedict XVI also highlighted the relevance of the Gospel from the 5th Sunday of Lent, in which Jesus - with His Passion drawing near – says: “If the grain of wheat that falls to the earth does not die, it remains alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit” (Jn 12:24). “The decisive hour has arrived, the hour for which the Son of God has come into the world, and despite his troubled soul, he makes himself available to accomplish the Father’s will to the end. And this is God’s will: To give eternal life to us who have lost it. But that this be realized Jesus must die, like a grain of wheat that God the Father has sown in the world. Only in this way can a new humanity sprout and grow, free from the domination of sin and able to live in fraternity, as the sons and daughters of the one Father who is in heaven. In the great feast of faith that was experienced together in Africa, we saw that this new humanity is alive, even with its human limitations. There where, like Jesus, missionaries gave, and continue to spend, their lives for the Gospel, abundant fruit is harvested. I would like to express my gratitude for the good that they do. These missionaries are men and women, religious and lay. It was beautiful to see the fruit of their love for Christ and observe the deep thankfulness that the Christians have for them. Let us give thanks to God and pray to Mary Most Holy that Christ’s message of hope and love be spread through whole world.”
After the Angelus, the Holy Father offered a special greeting to the Africans present, saying: “I greet with affection the numerous Africans who live in Rome, among whom there are many students, who are here today with Monsignor Robert Sarah, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Dear friends, you wanted to come to manifest your joy for my apostolic trip to Africa. I thank you from my heart. I pray for you, for your families and your homelands. Thank you!” Lastly, Benedict XVI made an invitation, especially to the youth of Rome, to the Mass on Thursday, April 2, for the 4th anniversary of the death of Servant of God John Paul II, in preparation for World Youth Day, which will be celebrated on a diocesan level, on Palm Sunday. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 30/3/2009)