Antananarivo, 10 September, 2020 / 11:19 pm (ACI Africa).
One Year since Pope Francis visited Madagascar, a missionary Cleric whose apostolate involves reaching out to the deprived in the Island nation off the coast of East Africa, has shared memories of the 6-8 September 2019 Papal pastoral trip describing it as “an unforgettable human and spiritual event.”
Among the highlights of the Holy Father’s pastoral trip to Madagascar was his visit to Akamasoa. Also known as the City of Friendship, Akamasoa is a town on the outskirts of Antananarivo.
At Akamasoa, Pope Francis met Fr. Pedro Opeka, a missionary Cleric from Argentina who has been serving in Indian Ocean Island country for over 50 years.
“It is more than a memory. It is an unforgettable experience. A human, spiritual and fraternal experience that all the people of Madagascar and Akamasoa lived when the Pope came to visit us in our village, the hills of Akamasoa and then the meeting with the young people,” Fr. Pedro who founded the City of Friendship has been quoted as saying Thursday, September 10 in an interview.
He added in reference to the Holy Father’s pastoral visit, “It was an unforgettable moment because the Pope came to comfort us in our missionary work, in this evangelical commitment that we have made in favour of the poor.”