On Sunday, Sept. 8, his last day in Madagascar, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for approximately one million people. The overwhelming majority of those present at Mass are poor, but they love Francis because they see him as “a man of God” and “the pope of the poor,” one who is on their side in world where they have so little.
Vatican Dispatch
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Pope Francis tells Madagascars bishops: Be sowers of faith, hope and peace in this land of contradictions
Pope Francis encouraged the bishops of Madagascar “to be sowers of hope and peace” in the midst of the contradictions that are so evident in this land.
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Pope Francis calls on Madagascar’s leaders to fight corruption, eliminate poverty and protect the environment
On his first day in Madagascar, Pope Francis issued a strong call to the governmental authorities of this island of 27 million people to fight “with determination” against “endemic forms of corruption and speculation,” to “confront” the situations that “create conditions of inhumane poverty,” and to protect the environment against damage to nature and the people.
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Pope Francis to Mozambicans: ‘You have a right to peace’
Before leaving the country on Sept. 6, Francis made a last, passionate appeal for reconciliation and the healing of wounds from the nation’s long civil war.
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The anti-poverty project Pope Francis will visit in Madagascar
During his sojourn in Madagascar on Sept. 8, Pope Francis will drive six miles from the center of Antananarivo, the capital city of this country of 27 million people, to visit the cooperative association Akamasoa.
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Pope Francis celebrates the fruits of peace in Mozambique
He praised “the efforts made in recent decades to ensure that peace is once more the norm and reconciliation the best path to confront the difficulties and challenges that you face as a nation.”
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Pope Francis to journalist: ‘I am honored that the Americans attack me.’
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told journalists that “in an informal context, the pope wished to say that he always considers criticisms as an honor, particularly when they come from authoritative thinkers, and in this case from an important nation.”
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Why Pope Francis knows so much about Mozambique
When Pope Francis arrives in Mozambique on Sept. 4 he is going to a country that he already knows much about from his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires, the Rev. Juan Gabriel Arias, 50, told America on the eve of the papal visit.
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Pope Francis is heading back to Africa. Here’s what we can expect.
Pope Francis returns to sub-Saharan Africa for the second time on Sept. 4 to Sept. 10 to visit the Republics of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius.
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Pope Francis issues new call for world leaders to act on the climate emergency
Pope Francis said that the forthcoming United Nations Climate Action Summit “is of particular importance.”