Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bukavu (Fides Service)- “Goodbye John Paul II, parish priest of the world”, said Italian missionary Fr Luigi Lo Stocco, director of Radio Maria Malia wa Amani in Bukavu, in the east of Democratic Congo, in a tribute to the late Pope sent to Fides.
“Goodbyes always make the heart sad. In Africa we are used to death. Death is everywhere and many die unknown. Death is part of life but it leaves us helpless and filled with fear” the missionary wrote. “To say goodbye to Pope John Paul II touches us all very deeply. John Paul II this great parish priest of the world had become one of us, a member of the family, the tribe, the country. He was never a foreigner even though he ‘came from afar’; he embraced our cultures, our expectations, our concerns”.
Fr Luigi recalled that young people in particular will miss the Pope: “John Paul II, the Pope of young people, the Pope of so many World Youth Days, the Pope who drew millions of young people from all over the world. The Pope who touched the hearts of young people, spoke their language, although he never failed to teach them, without compromise, the truth of the faith and the encounter with Christ”
“I and the other Christians in Bukavu and all over our lovely country which you visited twice in your long pontificate, are filled with sadness and emptiness now that you have gone” Fr Luigi wrote. “Seeing the leaders of the world kneeling to pay you homage I cannot fail to think of our Congo and those who govern it. Congo is our dearest possession. It is the land of our forefathers, the land of all Congolese men and women. After 35 years here I too can say these things” said Fr. Luigi.
“Dear John Paul II, go in peace, go with the serenity which covered your face in death. And continue to help us there where you are in the glory of Paradise. Continue your work of “seeing”, “thinking” and intervening for this Africa you loved so much, that she may find again her being, her dignity and her place in the world” the missionary concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/4/2005 righe 31 parole 430)
