Home » Featured » “Pope’s visit will be very important for peace”, says missionary in South Sudan

“Pope’s visit will be very important for peace”, says missionary in South Sudan

A Combonian missionary nun living in Wau, South Sudan, believes the upcoming visit by Pope Francis to the youngest country in the world, scheduled for 5-7 July, could have an historic effect on the peace process.

“The Pope will play a very, very important role. The Pope, the Christian churches and all the local Christian leaders. We all have a very important role to play at this moment in the history of South Sudan”, says Sister Beta Almendra, speaking to ACN.

“The people count on us. When there is violence, they immediately ask where is the Church? Where are the leaders? They depend on us, on our support, on our help, on our prayer, and on everything we can do for peace in this country.”

Aged 52, Beta Almendra is originally from Portugal and this is her second missionary experience in Africa, having served for six years in Kenya. She arrived in Wau in early 2021, when the coronavirus pandemic was in full force. She says there is a huge expectation regarding the Pope’s visit, compounded by all Pope Francis has already done to bring peace and an end to violence and war in this country.

“Many of the people of South Sudan have never known anything else. There are generations that were born into war. And the last war was terrible, so much was destroyed. Schools, infrastructure, hospitals, churches, lives, many women and children, and there was also an attempt to eliminate people with a certain education, people who could become future leaders”.

An unforgettable gesture

In April 2019 Pope Francis stunned the world when he bent down to kiss the feet of President Salva Kiir and his designated Vice-presidents Riek Machar e Rebecca Nyandeng, who were taking part in a spiritual retreat in the Vatican. The gesture is still remembered in South Sudan today. Peace, however, remains fragile. “Just a few days ago”, says the missionary, “we had a period of high tension, and war almost started again. One of our church leaders went to the president and vice-president and asked them. ‘Don’t you remember what the Pope did to you? You said publicly that it had changed your lives, that there would be no more war in South Sudan’. It was that memory, that gesture, that led these leaders to reach a new deal, to dialogue once more, to take one more step towards lasting peace”.

Sister Beta Almendra with students
Sister Beta Almendra with students

The Pope’s visit in July comes at a very important time for the country, with elections scheduled for December. At the moment, however, all attention is focused on the Holy Father and making sure the trip runs smoothly. In order to see the Pope, Sister Beta will have to get to Juba, an “expensive, and dangerous” trip, but one which she will “gladly undertake”.

“My expectation for this trip is that people will understand that peace is possible, that peace is something good, that it is the only way to develop this country, for schools and hospitals to keep functioning, for the South Sudanese people to grow as teachers, doctors, pilots, engineers, and that they might be able to care for their own country, in peace”.

“We are counting on you”

The Pope’s visit is also bound to highlight the difficulties of the local church, the basic needs of the population, and the urgent aid required by many sectors of society. “The Church in South Sudan is very dependent on external help. Speaking of the diocese of Wau, everything needs to be built: seminaries, diocesan houses, convents, schools, hospitals. It’s a question of investing in structures that existed but were destroyed. We really do depend completely on the outside.” For this mission, as with all the other needs of the Diocese of Wau, the Portuguese nun says she counts on the help of ACN and its benefactors. “We are counting on you!”

ACN has been supporting South Sudan since 2015, funding the construction or reconstruction of churches and pastoral centres, the formation of seminarians and living expenses for priests and religious. For example, currently ACN is helping to build a priests’ residence in the cathedral’s parish of Wau.

Don't miss the latest updates!

Gaza: First step towards peace after 733 days of war

While indirect talks are taking place in Egypt between Israeli…

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21…

Papal envoy carries solidarity to the Christians of war-torn Sudan

Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan, Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, has…

In the east of Burkina Faso, still many problems as term starts

While the security situation in Burkina Faso has improved slightly,…

From Angola to Vietnam, enthusiasm with “One million children praying the Rosary” campaign

ACN’s yearly campaign, added to the Holy Father’s appeal to…

Church clings to life amid chaos in Gaza

Aid to the Church in Need echoes Pope Leo XIV’s…

List of News

Gaza: First step towards peace after 733 days of war

While indirect talks are taking place in Egypt between Israeli envoys and Hamas, the hope for a beginning of peace is cautiously laying roots in the diocese of the Holy...

Fr Hugo Alaniz recounts a night of explosions and fear in Aleppo: “People are very afraid, we don’t know what is going to happen”

In the midst of a new wave of fighting, the Argentine priest describes hours of anguish in Aleppo. His parish has once again become a refuge for dozens of families....

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21 at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome for the worldwide presentation of the latest edition of the Report on...