A day after the beatification of Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui, Pope Leo XIV recalls his example of faith in God and peacebuilding, and prays that the Blessed may bring “long-awaited peace soon to Kivu, to Congo, and to all of Africa.”
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Leo XIV recalled the holiness and prayerfulness of newly-Blessed Floribert Bwana Chui on Monday. “This African martyr, in a continent rich in youth, shows how they can be a leaven of peace—unarmed and disarming. This Congolese layman highlights the precious value of the witness of laypeople and young people.”
The Holy Father did so in his address to pilgrims in Rome for Floribert’s beatification, which took place Sunday evening in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
In his remarks, the Pope posed the question, “Where did a young man draw the strength to resist corruption, so entrenched in the prevailing mindset and capable of any violence?”
“The choice to keep his hands clean—as a customs officer—was formed by a conscience shaped through prayer, listening to the Word of God, and communion with his brothers and sisters,” he said.
Spirituality of St. Egidio
Pope Leo XIV noted that Blessed Floribert lived the spirituality of the Community of St. Egidio, which, he recalled, the late Pope Francis used to summarize with three “P’s”: prayer, poor, peace.
Recalling that the poor were central to the new Blessed’s life, Pope Leo said Floribert had offered a commitment and closeness to street children who were driven to Goma by war, many of whom were despised and orphaned.
“He loved them with the charity of Christ,” said the Pope. “He cared about them and was concerned with their human and Christian formation.”
The Holy Father marveled that Floribert’s strength grew through fidelity to prayer and to the poor, and that he was a man of peace.
Listened to Jesus
“In a region so afflicted as Kivu, torn by violence,” the Pope highlighted, “he carried on his struggle for peace with gentleness, serving the poor, practicing friendship and encounter in a divided society.”
This young man, not at all resigned to evil, the Holy Father insisted, “had a dream nourished by the words of the Gospel and closeness to the Lord. Many young people felt abandoned and without hope, but Floribert listened to Jesus’ words: ‘I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you’.”
‘Long-awaited peace to Kivu, Congo, and all of Africa’
With this in mind, Pope Leo underscored, “No land is abandoned by God!” recalling the Blessed’s great faith and trust in the Lord for the future.
Pope Leo XIV concluded by praying that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and Blessed Floribert, “the long-awaited peace may soon come to Kivu, to Congo, and to all of Africa!”
