Pope Francis' peace mission to Africa, a 'failed' mission?

By Osoro Nyawangah, MWANZA Tanzania

Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was the head of the catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2013 until his death in 2025.

Pope Francis kneels to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s leaders 

He was the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first of Latin American identity, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside of Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio was inspired to join the Jesuits in 1958 after recovering from severe illness. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969; from 1973 to 1979, he was the Jesuit provincial superior in Argentina.

He became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II.

Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, a papal conclave elected Bergoglio as his successor on 13 March. He chose Francis as his papal name in honour of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Throughout his public life, Francis was noted for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, international visibility as pope, concern for the poor, and commitment to interreligious dialogue.

In this, he had a mission in Africa focused on fostering peace, reconciliation, and social justice while advocating for the continent's unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues as Africa leaders struggle to 'silence the guns'. 

The pontiff performed the rare gesture of humbleness to encourage South Sudan's previously warring leaders to implement the revitalized peace deal.

Pope Francis had a big heart for Africa and Africans. He leaves behind a legacy of commitment to Africa’s quest for peace, social justice, and integral development. To crown it all, the Pope’s solidarity with African refugees and migrants, the poor, and the marginalized will live on.

He championed global attention to Africa's importance in the Catholic Church, highlighting the continent's resilience in the face of adversity and raising issues like climate change, economic inequality, and political instability. 

During his papacy, the Holy Father travelled to Kenya, Uganda, the Central African Republic, Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, Madagascar, the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan.

His visit to South Sudan took place in the company of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. Off the eastern coast of Africa, Pope Francis also visited Mauritius during the same Apostolic voyage to Mozambique and Madagascar.

He visited Mozambique at the time the country was experiencing a significant increase in terrorist activity in 2019. 

ISIS-Mozambique-related violence resulted in 1,500 estimated deaths, more than 700 of them civilian deaths, and the internal displacement of more than 500,000 people.  ISIS-Mozambique attacks grew in frequency, complexity, and geographic scope, threatening the development of liquefied natural gas projects. 

Pope Francis’ messages of peace during the Apostolic voyage to Mozambique, Mauritius and Madagascar reminded the continent of Africa that everything is lost with war, and everything is gained with peace.

“With war, many men, women and children suffer because they have no home to live in, no food, no schools to educate themselves, hospitals to treat their health, Churches to meet for prayer and fields to employ the labour force. Many thousands of people are forced to move in search of security and the means to survive...No to violence and yes to peace!” The Pontiff told various Mozambican Authorities; members of the Diplomatic Corps based in Maputo as well as Civil Society on 5 September 2019.

The human rights environment in Mozambique did not improve in 2024.

The humanitarian situation worsened due to massive displacement in conflict-hit Cabo Delgado province and a drought affecting Southern Africa.

As of August, over 850,000 people were displaced within Mozambique due to the conflict and the impact of the climate crisis, according to the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. 

The visit of the Democratic Republic of Congo by Pope Francis in February 2023 remains a landmark for many Congolese as more than one million people attended his open-air mass in Kinshasa. At the time he spoke against "economic colonialism" and said Africa "was not a mine to be exploited, nor a land to be plundered."

After the mass, the Pope met with victims of violence in eastern Congo, calling upon those who "plunder, scourge and destabilize" to lay down their weapons.

The violence is the result of fighting among several armed groups with historical connections to DRC's neighbouring countries like Rwanda.

"Your tears are my tears; your pain is my pain." Francis said, after he sat in silence while he listened to the stories of pain and suffering that people told him.

"I am with you; I want to bring you God's caress."

"To every family that grieves or is displaced by the burning of villages and other war crimes, to the survivors of sexual violence and to every injured child and adult, I say: I am with you; I want to bring you God's caress." He added. 

While DRC has among the world's richest mineral deposits it is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. Its wealth of gold, diamonds and other precious metals has contributed to decades of conflict, human rights abuses, and illegal exploitation of mineral wealth.

Currently, the DRC is facing one of the world's worst humanitarian and food insecurity disasters, with one in every four people in need of humanitarian support and has become the second largest internally displaced people's crisis globally. 25.4 million people are food insecure, including, 13.2 million children.

His personal plea turned diplomatic when, in February 2023, he travelled to South Sudan.

Along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, he warmly addressed thousands of faithful who had suffered and continued to endure the brutal consequences of war.

Then, as he addressed the nation’s authorities, civil society and diplomatic corps at the Presidential Palace in Juba, he warned them: “Future generations will either venerate your names or cancel their memory, based on what you now do”.

In his homily, woven around the themes of peace, unity, reconciliation and mutual forgiveness for past wrongs, the Holy Father appealed to South Sudanese to shun the temptation of hatred and revenge, and any other acts that may trigger violence between tribes and ethnic groups, stressing that such attitudes and actions are obstacles to peace and prosperity.

The Pope made an appeal for an end to tribalism, financial wrongdoing and the practice of favouring one's close friends in political appointments, which he said are at the root of the many problems the country is facing. He called upon the faithful to build good human relationships as a way of curbing division, corruption, and injustices. He also pleaded with South Sudan’s leaders to focus on ending conflict and intercommunal violence in the country.

The conflict in Sudan is yet to end! It has caused widespread destruction and displacement, forcing 14 million people from their homes since April 2023 and further intensifying the already critical hunger crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan are facing life-threatening food shortages.

At his last public appearance, Pope Francis repeated what had become a slogan in his pontificate of peace. Everyone knew to expect it at the end of his audiences, but never did it lose its strength.

Courtesy

During the Easter Urbi et Orbi blessing, the day before he died, the Pope’s words echoed the countless appeals he had made over the years, urging world leaders to lay down arms and turn to dialogue.

The three countries I discussed Mozambique, DR Congo, and South Sudan are still at war within themselves causing increased number of human deaths, displacements and hunger.

Will the African leaders heed his calling or is his mission to Africa a failed mission?