Cardinal Nzapalainga among Winners of 2024 Aegis Award for Playing “a critical role” in Preventing Violence in CAR

“At the height of the violence, the Cardinal modeled that friendship and care by saving the Imam’s life, taking him and his family into his residence in Bangui,” the Aegis Trust founder said, alluding to the Catholic Church leader’s initiatives documented in the 2021 film, “Sìrìrì (Peace), the Cardinal and the Imam”

Dr. Smith explained, “Forming the Platform of Religions in the Central African Republic, at risk of their own lives, the three faith leaders would make a point of traveling to hot spots of violence to speak to citizens and calm tensions, even if this meant having to talk their way through hostile militia roadblocks.”

He described the late Imam Layama, who died in 2020 as a “brave and humble leader.”

“Imam Layama leaves a legacy of peacebuilding which inspires all of us who worked with him in this cause to redouble our efforts,” Dr. Smith said.

In an interview with ACI Africa in September 2021, Cardinal Nzapalainga described the film that highlighted his peace initiatives alongside his Muslim counterpart as an accurate representation of the challenges and opportunities in their country CAR.

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The documentary film “is a true representation of the situation in CAR. In the film we find children who can’t go to school, women who can’t go to farm because of insecurity. We even find a doctor crying for help after rebels destroyed a hospital,” the member of the  Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers/CSSp.) said during the 9 September 2021 interview about the film titled, “Sìrìrì (Peace), the Cardinal and the Imam”. The film premiered at the Vatican on 2 September 2021.

Earlier, in May 2021, Cardinal Nzapalainga had published a book on his peace initiatives titled, “Je suis venu vous apporter la Paix” (I come to bring you peace).

The Cardinal reflected on his life as a Spiritan, as the Local Ordinary of Bangui, as a Cardinal, and as a peacemaker. He also recounted Pope Francis’ visit to CAR in 2015, and reflected on the challenges and opportunities in CAR.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.