Francis urges Congoleses young people to take charge

Tens of thousands of African young people are gathering under a blinding sun in the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

"Catechesis? That's my business! The Catholic Church? That's my business!" The crowd cheers as they await the arrival of Pope Francis. There are still more than two hours before the 86-year-old pope is due be here, but the Congolese have already filled the stands, despite the heat and smog that surrounds the sports stadium on this Thursday morning.

The 65,000 people here started arriving at 4 a.m. They wanted to see the pope on his third and penultimate day of his visit to their country. And since the median age in DR-Congo is around 18, the country in many ways belongs to them.  As they wait for Francis to arrive, many are singing and dancing, flags in hand, to the rhythm of a deafening music.

On the stairs leading to the stands where some fights have broken out, people jostle to get inside and take their seats. A 33-years-old woman from Kinshasa named Nathalie has come with her son Yannis. It will be her second time in two days to see the pope, since she also went to the papal Mass on Wednesday. 

"This pope is a bit special"

Yannis, who is seven years old, has only seen Pope Francis on television. "He was completely white," the boy says. "This pope is a bit special. Seeing him is like receiving a blessing," says the boy’s mother. But she also sees in Francis the one who could bring peace to the country.

Many young people this morning are hoping that the pope's visit will be a turning point in calming the violence, especially in the east of the country. Since his arrival on Tuesday in this Central African nation of nearly 96 million people, tensions between rebels and the regular army in the eastern DRC  of the country have been on everyone's mind.

"You know, we look happy like this, but we are suffering inside," insists Keenan, a 23-year-old student in Kinshasa who is originally from the eastern provinces where her aunt was murdered a few weeks ago.

The pope, “like a prophet, can change something in the country"

Even though the young woman belongs to a Pentecostal church, she believes the pope, "like a prophet, can change something in the country".

A man named Pierre has also been struck by Francis' personality. 

"When he was elected pope, the first thing he did was to ask us to pray for him, so that he could accomplish his mission,” recalls the 37-year-old. “Normally, the opposite happens, he blesses people. This is a very strong source of simplicity for a man who has power."

Finally, Pope Francis arrives and during a ten-minute tour in his popemobile is cheered and applauded like a rock star in a super-charged atmosphere. Then, during the course of his address, he surprises Nathalie, Keenan, Pierre and the others who have put their hopes in his visit..

"Your hands all look alike, but none of them is exactly the same. No one has hands just like yours," Francis tells them. "What are my hands for? For building up or for tearing down, for giving or for grabbing, for loving or for hating?"

Pope Francis' call to fight corruption

As he did the day before at the Eucharistic celebration, Francis urges the young Congolese to resist the temptations of "regionalism" and "tribalism", and to prefer community. He then makes a new request of the young audience. "Just for a few moments, hold hands with whoever is beside you," he says.

"Imagine yourselves as one Church, a single people," he continues. "Realize that your own welfare depends on the welfare of others, which is multiplied by the whole. Have a sense of what it means to be protected by your brother and sister, by someone who accepts you as you are and is concerned about you. And know that you are responsible for others."

Before the crowd's cheers, applause and continuous chants – and despite the heat and fatigue – the octogenarian pope seems amused and invigorated in a way he has not appeared in a long time. He then begins to speak off script, challenging the young people and reminding them that power and corruption are never compatible with being honest.

"There are brave, intelligent and corrupt people. Is a corrupt person honest or not honest?" he asks, before saying in French: "Je vous demande!" And the crowd gestured with their arms to mime a "no".

Then the pope continues: "All together, let’s say: no corruption!"

At this point, many of those in the stadium shout out in Lingala, one of the national languages of Congo, a warning to the country’s president who is expected to run for re-election in December. "Fatshi yebela mandat esili!" they scream, which means “Félix Tshisekedi beware, your mandate is over”. Suddenly, national TV cuts the sound of its broadcast and, for a few moments, blurs the image of the crowd. 

(Loup Besmond de Senneville is traveling with the pope in Africa.)