VATICAN - Pope Benedict XVI and Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples send letters of condolence to the Church in Congo for the death of Cardinal Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi

Tuesday, 9 January 2007

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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - After receiving the news of the death of Cardinal Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi CICM, Archbishop of Kinshasa in Congo, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI addressed a telegramme of sympathy to Bishop Daniel Nlandu Mayi, Auxiliary of Kinshasa, and to Fr. Jozef Lapauw, Superior General of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut Missionaries, CICM). The Cardinal died on 6 January in hospital in Louvain, Belgium (see Fides 8/1/2007).
In his telegramme to Bishop Nlandu Mayi the Pope says he is united in prayer with the archdiocese of Kinshasa, with the Bishops’ Conference, with the members of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (of which the cardinal was a member) the Cardinal’s family and all who grieve. “I ask the Father of mercy to welcome into the light and peace of his Kingdom this Shepherd who dedicated his life to serving Christ and His Church ” the Pope writes giving thanks for “the ministry of the eminent son of Africa … who worked tirelessly to promote the announcement of the Gospel, the service and development of the peoples of the continent”. In the letter to the Superior General of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of which Cardinal Etsou was a member, the Pope assured them of his spiritual closeness and prayers and he thanked God “for the ministry of Cardinal Etsou in the dioceses of Mbandaka-Bikoro and Kinshasa, and also for his fruitful pastoral activity at the service of your religious family in Congo and elsewhere in Africa”.
The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples also sent a message of condolence to the archdiocese of Kinshasa and the whole Church in Congo assuring prayers for the repose of the soul of the Cardinal and recognising “his great human, spiritual and pastoral qualities and his service as a priest and a bishop”. The message reads “a tireless shepherd and faithful servant, the Cardinal returns to the House of the Father having done his best. His leaves as his legacy his witness of love of God, the Church and his homeland”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 9/1/2007 ; righe 27, parole 398)