By Claudia Torres – Kilamba, Angola
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Holy Mass in Kilamba, a planned urban development about 30 kilometres from the coastal city of Luanda. Some 100,000 people gathered for the liturgy on Sunday, Apr 19 – not only from Luanda, but from Poland, Italy, and even as far as Uruguay.
Expressing faith through music
The atmosphere was festive, animated by the ‘500 vozes’ choir, under the coordination of the National Secretariat of Liturgy, representing the choirs of the Dioceses and Archdioceses that constitute the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST).
“We are here to play all the music that makes people dance,” said pianist Luis Muxinda, one of two young men playing keyboard for the papal Mass. For him, it was the first time playing at this sort of event. “This is a very good opportunity and I feel very excited,” he said.
Missionaries from Uruguay and Poland
A large group of priests sat in the first several rows of chairs, wearing white for the liturgy on the third Sunday of Easter. Among them was Father Andrés Algorta, a missionary priest from Uruguay who has lived in Angola for many years, carrying out his ministry at the São Paulo parish in Luanda.
“We are very happy that the Pope is here with us,” he said, expressing gratitude for the Holy Father’s closeness to the people of Benguela, a coastal city that has been affected by deadly flooding. In his address to Angola’s authorities on 18 April, Pope Leo remembered victims and those who have lost their homes.
“The Pope was so kind as to join in their suffering. I think in that moment he embraced not just Benguela but all Angolans,” said the Uruguayan missionary.
Also present was Sister Krystyna Zachwieja, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary from Poland who is involved in pastoral and education work, as well as formation for her congregation in Angola. “The experience which we are living now at this moment is something fantastic,” she said, expressing her confidence that the Pope’s visit will be something very, very helpful for the new evangelization” in Angola.
Doctors on a mission
Then there were Sergio Facchini and Eleonora Biasotto, paediatricians from Italy on a two-year mission at Divine Providence Hospital in Luanda. They work with malnutrition in children, which Eleonora described as a “complex” issue that at times places them in extremely “difficult situations.” Despite the challenges, she said, “we seek to do what we can.”
“Our work,” Sergio added, “draws us close to the least, to the marginalized even in this already difficult reality, and the presence of the Pope, who wants to be close to these people, gives us strength and helps us to continue in our work.”
Fr Daniel Malamba, an Angolan Divine Word Missionary priest said it was a source of joy for Angola’s Christians to welcome the Pope as a “pilgrim of peace” and hope, adding that the people are still in need of “social peace, peace of the heart, and the peace of perfect coexistence.” – Vatican News
