“All necessary measures put in place”: South Sudanese Governor ahead of Ecumenical Visit

Juba, 27 January, 2023 / 9:24 PM

Participants in the planned ecumenical visit to South Sudan have been assured of security as the time of the previously postponed Papal trip to two-African-nation nears.

Addressing journalists Wednesday, January 25 in Juba on preparations for the February 3-5 Papal visit, the Governor of Central Equatoria State that is headquartered in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, said, “I am assuring the public that all necessary measures have been put in place to make sure citizens are protected during the visit of the Holy Father to the country.”

“I am urging everyone to cooperate with the security organs to avoid problems during that joyful day,” Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony further said. 

The South Sudanese Governor directed all security agencies and their respective personnel “to maintain law and order during their work.”

“Movement of the animals within and around the city is prohibited,” he further said. 

On 1 December 2022, officials of the Holy See Press Office confirmed that the previously postponed trip to two-African-nation had been rescheduled.

In his first leg of the two-African-nation trip, the Holy Father will first travel to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he will meet with the country’s authorities, victims of the conflict in the Eastern part of the country and representatives of charitable organizations, celebrate Holy Mass, meet with young people, Catholic Bishops, and Jesuits in DRC.

Pope Francis is to proceed to South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, for what the Vatican described as “Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace in South Sudan”, to be undertaken by the Holy Father, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields from February 3-5.

In his address to journalists on January, the Governor of South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State urged those involved in the preparations for the ecumenical visit to “continue with extra strength to complete the pending tasks for this ecumenical visit,”

He encouraged South Sudanese “to come in large numbers on the streets of Juba on February 3 to receive these great religious prelates with joy and happiness.” 

“The Holy Father is visiting us with messages that will bring peace and reconciliation among us because this is something the country has been yearning for all this time,” Governor Adil told journalists in Juba.

He added, “We have to prepare ourselves and our hearts to receive the blessing from these Church Prelates.”