Pope to Equatorial Guinea: 'Carry on the mission of Jesus’ first disciples with joy'

MALABO, Equatorial Guinea — Pope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his Africa trip on Thursday, urging the Church in Equatorial Guinea to continue proclaiming the Gospel “with passion” and to bear witness through lives shaped by faith, service, and solidarity.

The Mass at Malabo’s stadium, where about 30,000 faithful were expected, marked the pope’s last major public event in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final African nation on his 11-day journey.

After riding through the crowd in the popemobile, Leo began Mass amid flags, songs, and colorful hats, with music and dance accompanying the liturgy.

Before delivering his homily, the pope greeted the Archdiocese of Malabo and offered condolences for the recent death of its vicar general, Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, who died unexpectedly April 17 at age 39.

“We remember him in this Eucharist,” Leo said. “I invite you to live this moment of sorrow with a spirit of faith, and I trust that full light will be shed on the circumstances of his death.”

In his homily, preached in Spanish, the pope reflected on the day’s Scripture readings, especially the account in the Acts of the Apostles of the deacon Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.

“When the deacon Philip approached a traveler who was returning from Jerusalem to Africa, he asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’” the pope said. “The pilgrim, a eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, replied immediately with humble wisdom: ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ His question is not only a search for truth, but also an expression of openness and desire.”

Leo said the figure of the eunuch reveals both human suffering and the liberating power of the Gospel.

“Yet, as he returns to his homeland of Africa, which for him has become a place of servitude, the proclamation of the Gospel sets him free,” the pope said. “Through his encounter with Philip, a witness of the crucified and risen Christ, the eunuch is transformed from a mere reader — a spectator — of Scripture into a protagonist in the very story that captivates him, because it now concerns him personally.”

“This African man thus enters into Scripture, which welcomes every reader who seeks to understand God’s word,” Leo continued. “He steps into salvation history, which embraces every man and woman, especially the oppressed, the marginalized and the least among us.”

The pope said Christians today, like the Ethiopian eunuch, read Scripture not in isolation but within the life of the Church.

“Together we read Scripture as the shared heritage of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, who inspired its composition, and by Apostolic Tradition, which has preserved and transmitted it throughout the world,” he said. “Like the eunuch, we too can come to understand the Word of God with the help of a guide who accompanies us on our journey of faith.”

Turning to the Gospel of John and Jesus’ teaching on the bread of life, Leo said Christ fulfills God’s saving work in history and leads every people out of slavery.

“Through Jesus’ Passover, the definitive exodus, every people is set free from the slavery of evil,” he said.

The pope also stressed that Christian faith does not erase suffering but illuminates it with hope.

“Our problems do not disappear in the Lord’s presence, but they are illuminated,” he said. “Just as every cross finds redemption in Jesus, so too the story of our lives finds its meaning in the Gospel.”

Quoting Pope Francis’ Evangelii Gaudium, Leo warned against spiritual self-absorption and called the faithful to keep making room for the poor, for God’s voice, and for the quiet joy of his love. He said it is precisely the Lord’s love that sustains Christians in the service of justice and solidarity.

He concluded by encouraging the local Church to continue its evangelical mission with joy.

“For this reason, I encourage all of you, as the living Church in Equatorial Guinea, to carry on the mission of Jesus’ first disciples with joy,” Leo said. “As you read the Gospel together, proclaim it with passion, just as the deacon Philip did. And as you celebrate the Eucharist together, bear witness through your lives to the faith that saves, so that God’s word may become good leaven for all.”

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/pope-to-equatorial-guinea-carry-on-the-mission-of-jesus-first-disciples-with-joy