From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
Pope Francis, will on November 1, 2022, meet virtually with young Nigerian Catholics and others from 27 institutions across nine African countries.
The meeting is a follow-up to a virtual conversation that commenced earlier in the year with young people across the Americas.
NCR, a religious news source, reported that the event is an effort to continue the Pope’s promotion of the synod’s commitment to direct listening to voices across the Catholic Church.
The virtual session tagged “Building Bridges Across Africa: A Synodal Encounter between Pope Francis and University Students,” has as its theme: “Ubuntu: A Culture of Encounter; We All Belong.”
The day which coincided with the Solemnity of All Saints Day celebrated by Catholics worldwide, is also a day set aside for African Youth Day.
The youths, mainly students from across selected Catholic educational institutions such as universities and seminaries, cut across the sub-Saharan Africa.
Selected institutions from Nigeria participating in the pilot programme include Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan; All Saints Major Seminary, Uhiele, Ekpoma; Bigard Memorial Seminary, Enugu; and Madonna University, Elele.
Others are Augustine University, Lagos; Good Shepherd Seminary; Kaduna; Veritas University, Abuja and Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
One of the organisers of the virtual meeting, Revd Fr. Stan Chu Ilo of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network, said: “We believe this is a kairos moment for young people to hear from the visible head of the Catholic Church and to offer a fresh mandate, fresh call to action and a fresh mission.”
Ilo, a Research Professor of World Christianity and African Studies at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University in Chicago, United States, also said the programme is consistent with the emphasis on missionary conversion that Pope Francis has set out as the central focus of his papacy.
Ilo also recalled that Pope Francis has frequently talked about the impression that the young people left on him during his travels in Africa and has expressed his desire for new movements in the church to emerge from Africa.
“Who else can embody this better than young people? They are the shoulders on which the new African church can really take off,” Ilo stated.