< Pope Francis celebrates Mass with million faithful in Democratic Republic of Congo

February 1, 20232:52 PM ET

Pope Francis celebrates Mass with million faithful in Democratic Republic of Congo

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JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

The pope has been addressing a crowd of a million Catholics at an outdoor mass on the second day of his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The scenes as he was greeted on the street were ecstatic.

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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Viva il papa.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Viva il papa.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Viva il papa.

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Viva il papa.

SUMMERS: Pope Francis has described his trip to the DRC and later to South Sudan as a pilgrimage of peace. Both countries have been mired in intractable conflicts for years. NPR's West Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, has been following the pope's journey and joins us now. Hi, there.

EMMANUEL AKINWOTU, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.

SUMMERS: So start by telling us, what was it like in the capital of Kinshasa today?

AKINWOTU: As you can imagine, people were joyous. It was like carnival, people singing viva papa. They've been lining the streets just to catch a glimpse of him in his popemobile. And then mass this morning, which was full of music...

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AKINWOTU: ...Like this very Congolese liturgy. You know, this is the largest community of Catholics in Africa, about half of the country's 95 million people. And it's the first time a pope is visiting in almost 40 years. You know, the majority of people in DRC weren't even alive to remember it because the population is so young. So it's really a landmark moment. The open-air mass at the main airport this morning was attended by about a million people, according to some estimates. So a lot of joy but also a lot of somberness. This is a country that has suffered years of bloody conflict. And today, he called for forgiveness.

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POPE FRANCIS: (Non-English language spoken).

AKINWOTU: Here, he made a direct call for an end to violence and then appealed to armed groups to lay down their arms and embrace mercy. Then later on, he met people from the east of the country who've suffered attacks and sexual violence.

SUMMERS: Remind us, if you can, just how dire is the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo right now?

AKINWOTU: It's been so grave for millions of people, especially in the east of the country. The roots of this violence is from the fallout of the Rwandan genocide in 1994. And several armed groups afterwards sprung up there. They're now controlling mineral resources in parts of the country, and they use it to fund their activities. An offensive by one group called M23 has led to intense fighting, and it displaced about 6 million people. Pope Francis is meeting some representatives from eastern DRC. But more importantly, the intent of his trip is to highlight that these conflicts have been going on for a long time and to rally support to end it.

SUMMERS: And I understand that Pope Francis has also been speaking out about the condition of the country in quite strong terms, including talking about economic colonialism.

AKINWOTU: Yes, his comments have been really striking. Yesterday, he also gave a speech to political and civil society groups. Let's hear what he had to say.

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FRANCIS: (Non-English language spoken).

AKINWOTU: He says, hands off the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it's not a mine to be stripped or a terrain to be plundered. Stop choking Africa. It's clear that to the pope, the DRC embodies many of the themes he's become known for - how inequality, exploitation, climate change drive poverty and violence. This is one of the most biodiverse areas in the world, with vast mineral resources like gold, diamonds, copper, most of the world's cobalt. But the companies that mine these resources, sometimes backed by wealthy countries, have been accused of getting rich from exploitative or corrupt deals. So Pope Francis' statements can be read as a rebuke of that.

SUMMERS: NPR's Emmanuel Akinwotu in Lagos, thank you so much.

AKINWOTU: Thank you.

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