Venue for Papal Public Mass in DR Congo at “final touches”: Congolese Official

He said more than one million people are expected to attend Mass on this site, “which can be evacuated in seven minutes.”

Pope Francis is set to arrive in Kinshasa on Tuesday, January 31, the first stop of his Apostolic journey to DRC and South Sudan.

Credit: ACI Africa

The Holy Father had planned to visit the Eastern city of Goma when the trip was officially announced, but that leg of the trip was canceled in the latest schedule that the Vatican released amid insecurity in Eastern DRC.

In the program and itinerary that the Vatican unveiled, the Holy Father will land at Ndjili international airport in Kinshasa on Tuesday, January 31 at 15h00 local time. 

Credit: ACI Africa  

After the official welcome of the Holy Father in DRC at the airport, a 15-minute welcome ceremony has been scheduled to take place at the "Palais de la Nation" in Kinshasa.

In his January 30 address to journalists, the technical Coordinator of the visit of the Holy Father in Kinshasa provided details about preparations of the venue of the Papal Public Mass.

“The technical team worked on a surface area of 850,000 Square meters separated into 30 zones to avoid uncontrolled mass movement,” Mr. Sheke said, adding that all the 30 sites are identified through a cubed-shaped decorated platform bearing the number of the zone.

Credit: ACI Africa

“On the site we also have 100 lighting poles; this means the site is accessible even at night,” he said, and that 30 entry points are well spaced to avoid stampede.

He explained, “When you enter a zone, you will not be able to change zones and all this is to avoid that there is a crowd or mass movement that could cause a stampede. Each zone is separated from each other by 10 meters.”

Credit: ACI Africa

“All persons entering the site will be subject to security checks,” he went on to say, and invited “all Congolese people and our guests to collaborate with our security forces for the success of the Mass.”

Water supply at the site, the project technical Coordinator said, will be facilitated “thanks to water reserves provided by the Congolese Water Authority.”

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“At the intersection of each zone, taps have been installed with a capacity that can allow at least 35 people to drink at the same time,” he said.

Credit: ACI Africa

Mr. Sheke continued, “We will have like 20 large hydrants here on the site. In addition to these taps, the Water Authority will position at least seven tanker trucks filled with water with a capacity double that of the water we already have on the sites in order to avoid a break in the water supply.”

Additionally, the Health Ministry has deployed “20 fixed mobile clinics on site with a capacity to care for at least ten people for each health center,” he said. 

“In addition, there will be ambulances to serve the mobile clinics. Here, on site, the way things are structured, even surgical interventions could be performed,” Mr. Sheke told journalists at Ndolo Airport on January 30. 

Credit: ACI Africa

The January 31- February 5 pastoral trip to DRC and South Sudan marks Pope Francis’ third visit to sub-Saharan Africa. 

The journey will be the first-ever Papal visit to South Sudan and the third Papal trip to DRC, which is home to Africa's largest Catholic population.

In his Angelus address on Sunday, January 29, Pope Francis asked “everyone” to accompany his Apostolic journey to DRC and South Sudan “with their prayers”.

The Holy Father who was speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace also expressed his love for the people of God in the two African countries, saying, “I greet with affection those beloved peoples who await me.”