“Accelerate preparations”: Vatican Official in South Sudan on Papal Ecumenical Visit

As soon as the Vatican confirms the date of the visit, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Vatican Nunciature in South Sudan said, “we shall communicate to the people of South Sudan because it is something they have been waiting for.”

The Vatican official called upon SCBC members “to continue praying for the Pope’s visit and engage Christians especially in prayer for the Holy Father to make his plan a reality.”

“I think it’s important to continue praying for the visit of the Holy Father,” Mons. Strejac told Catholic Bishops in Sudan and South Sudan on October 25. 

He added, “We also need to do all other preparations at different levels in the Parishes, and Dioceses so that the whole country is prepared to welcome the Holy Father even if they will not all come to Juba.” 

On September 20, Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese said that the Papal ecumenical visit was awaiting the Holy See’s “official announcement”.

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In an interview with Radio Bakhita, Archbishop Ameyu said that the Catholic Church in South Sudan was already making preparations while awaiting the official announcement from Rome. 

“The Holy Father recently stated that he would still like to visit South Sudan and suggested the month of February,” the Archbishop of South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See told Radio Bakhita.

On June 10, Matteo Bruni, the Holy See Press Office Director, announced the postponement “with regret” of the Holy Father’s third  trip to Africa.

“At the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardize the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee, the Holy Father has been forced to postpone, with regret, his Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to South Sudan, planned for 2 to 7 July, to a later date to be determined,” Mr. Bruni said.

Pope Francis suffers from a torn ligament in his right knee, a condition that has limited his ability to walk. On May 19, he used a wheelchair during a public meeting, the first time he had done so publicly since leaving the hospital after colon surgery in July 2021.

In the program that the Holy See published on May 28, Pope Francis’ 37th Apostolic Visit abroad was to begin in the capital city of DRC, Kinshasa on July 2, and conclude on July 7 in South Sudan’s capital city, Juba.

On June 12, Pope Francis said he was praying to reschedule the Apostolic trip to DRC and the ecumenical visit to South Sudan “as soon as possible”.

On July 2, the day he was previously scheduled to arrive in South Sudan, Pope Francis sent a video message urging the people of God in DRC and South Sudan not to let themselves “be robbed of hope” despite his decision to postpone his pastoral trip to the two African nations.

On July 5, Archbishop Welby and Greenshields assured the people of God in South Sudan that their ecumenical pilgrimage that was postponed would be realized.

Patrick Juma Wani is a South Sudanese journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. Patrick holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Uganda. He has over 7 years of extensive experience in leading the development and implementation of media, advocacy, communication and multimedia strategy and operations, with an excellent track record of editorial leadership, budget management, and stakeholder outreach. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.