The Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan has completed a 10-day visit to Sudan, where he carried a message of closeness and solidarity from Pope Leo XIV to the Catholic community amid the ongoing civil war. Source: Vatican News.
The war, which began in April 2023 following a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has resulted in waves of killings, mass displacement and what the United Nations has referred to as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, villages and farmlands destroyed, and nearly 12 million people driven from their homes – over four million as refugees into neighbouring countries.
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan said the trip aimed “to bring a word of closeness and of encouragement from the Pope to this much tried local Church in Sudan, and especially in these last two years, when a terrible civil war has raged”.
During his visit, Archbishop Horgan celebrated Mass with communities in Khartoum, Atbara, Omdurman and Port Sudan.
“In every occasion the faithful participated in large numbers and with joy, with enthusiasm,” he said. “I was very happy to be able to communicate this message to them. And I think the presence of the nuncio is symbolic for them. It meant that the wider Church was expressing its concern and assuring its prayers.”
Prayers for peace were central at each gathering. “We prayed on each of these occasions, of course, for peace in the nation, and for the Catholics in this nation who have been so sorely tested. And indeed, everybody in this nation is being thoroughly tested by this terrible war,” the nuncio said.
The archbishop also met with members of Sudan’s transitional government in Port Sudan. He expressed the Holy See’s principles regarding the future constitutional order, underlining the importance of “freedom of religion and freedom of culture”.
He stressed that war affects all alike: “This war has shown that Christians and Muslims suffer the same fate. When there’s a war, everyone suffers together. And to overcome this war, we must work together to rebuild Sudan.”
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Nuncio asks for prayers and action for war-torn Sudan (By Francesca Sabatinelli and Linda Bordoni, Vatican News)
