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| Pope John XXIII (Papa Buono) |
On the Second Sunday of Easter, 27th April, 2014, the universal Church will be celebrating the Canonization of the Giant Popes of our time, John XXIII and John Paul II. The AMECEA family is joining the rest of the world to pay homage to these garland Popes for their commitment to the work of evangelization in the region and Africa at large. In other words, the two Popes have seen the rapid growth of the Church in Africa from “Vatican Council II to our entry into the Third Millennium”.
Pope John XXIII was born on 25th November, 1881, in Lombardy (Northern Italy). He was made Pope on 28th October 1958 and died in 1963. John XXIII had a remarkably simple and humorous personality that earned him the name “Papa Buono” or Good Pope. What about us as the AMECEA family, what can we saying about him? What legacy has he left for the Church in our region?
On 28th March, 1960, Pope John XXIII appointed the first native Africa Cardinal, Laurent Cardinal Rugambwa, who was born in Bukoba and was Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, in Tanzania. In this way the Pope signaled the recognition of the growing importance of the Church in Africa since by then it was a domain of European and American missionaries.
Cardinal Rugambwa and other Bishops of the AMECEA region attended the Second Vatican Council which was opened by John XXIII on 11th October 1962 and it closed by Pope Paul VI on 8th December 1965. This provided for them the opportunity to hold their Second Plenary Assembly in November 1964 at St. Anselm College in Rome. It was at this meeting that the name of this regional body was changed from the Inter-Regional Episcopal Board of Eastern Africa (ITEBEA) to the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA). In addition, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), was also born during the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) in order to build the community of all the local Churches in Africa.
In calling for the Ecumenical Council of the Universal Church, John XXIII said, “as a Church we need to ‘open the windows’ to let the Spirit in.” This call for reform of the Universal Church helped the Bishops of AMECEA to embark of renewal of liturgical celebrations into local languages, enhance formation of the agents of evangelization and make ardent commitment to integral human development.
The promulgation of Encyclical Pacem in Terris, On Establishing Universal Peace in Truth,
Justice, Charity and Liberty by John XXIII made remarkable contribution to promoting peace, quest for national freedom and promotion of human dignity. During this time, many nations in the AMECEA region, and Africa in general, were fighting for political independence from colonial rule. In the third section of the encyclical, John XXIII appealed for the need to recognize the equality amongst nations and the need for the state to be subject to rights and duties that abide to the individuals citizens. He said, “Peace on earth, which all men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed."
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| Pope John Paul II (The Pilgrim Pope) |
Indeed, the ministry of Pope John XXIII, provided an opportunity for the Church in the AMECEA to seek ecclesial renewal, appreciation of the cultural values and a in a deeper understanding of building the local Church that is self-propagating, self-ministering and self-supporting.
The AMECEA family is also paying homage to John Paul II at his Canonization for the legacy and memories he has left in shaping the ecclesial structure, mission and pastoral activities of the Church in the region. Pope John Paul II, Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was born May 18, 1920, in Krakow, in southern Poland. On 16th October 1978, he was elected Pope and was Shepherd of the Universal Church for 26 years until his death in 2nd April 2005. The following year, the process of his canonization was announced.
During his Pontificate, Pope John Paul II made 16 visits to Africa, to 42 countries. He visited all the AMECEA countries except Eritrea and Ethiopia. During his visits to Kenya (1980, 1985 and 1995) the Pope opened Catholic Higher Institute of Eastern Africa (1985), which is now known as the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). CUEA has grown into one of the most reputable universities in Eastern Africa that has continued to provide quality education to agents of evangelization as well as the laity. During the same visit (1985), the Pope celebrated with the AMECEA family the International Eucharistic Congress that brought together the Christian faithful from around the world.
Again in 1995, the John Paul II visited Kenya and concluded the Synod of the Bishops of Africa with a Post-Synodal Exhortation under the title Ecclesia in Africa. In this document, John Paul II reflected on the model of the Church as Family and encouraged the Church in Africa to be missionary to its own land and people. He also raised concerns for the poverty, political unrest and other social issues affecting the people in the region. In addition to these visits to Kenya, the Pope also visited Malawi and Zambia (1989), Tanzania (1990), Uganda and Sudan (1993).
The teachings on John Paul II have remained and continued to shape the missionary work of the Church in the AMECEA region. He spoke, with appreciation, about the value of the Africa culture, the youthfulness of the Church and zeal with which people are able to witness to their faith. John Paul II showed special attachment to the young people. He always provided a forum to interact with young people and encouraging them with the message of hope in the message of the Gospel.
As AMECEA Family, we give homage to the two Popes, for their commitment to Shepherding the Universal Church with an extra-ordinary love. They helped to significantly bring about renewal of the Church in the region so that it becomes truly local, self-ministering, self-propagating and self-reliant. Let us pray for their intersession that by the example of their faith, hope and love, we may truly be a Church that is truly the Family of God rooted in the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Source: AMECEA Pastoral Department