Mozambique: She is not a Catholic, but wants the Pope to “make a strong prayer” – for her son to survive attacks in the north

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Mozambique: She is not a Catholic, but wants the Pope to “make a strong prayer” – for her son to survive attacks in the north

3:07 CAT | 03 Sep 2019

File photo: AFP

Gina Muchunga is not even Catholic, but she has a very special request to make of Pope Francis. She wants him to pray that her son, a soldier, returns safely from fighting the armed groups that are plaguing villages in the bush in northern Mozambique.

“I would like the Pope to make a strong prayer for the unrest in Cabo Delgado to stop, and my to come home, for me to see him again,” she has told Lusa.

Gina, 57, has an informal retail stand just outside the Zimpeto National Stadium, the country’s premier sports venue, which on Friday morning will turn into a church for a mass celebrated by the Pope.

“Two weeks ago there was a confusion there in Cabo Delgado. He [her son] escaped unhurt,” she tells Lusa. She has not seen him for a year, but believes that “if the Pope comes to bless [Mozambique], I think this confusion may stop.”

Blessings aside, informal trading is governed on a day-to-day basis and this week revenue will be lower. City authorities have banned local trade on the day of the outdoor mass.

“Last week they were here for a little Mass and when they were hungry they came to eat at our stalls. We would also like to be here on Mass Day, but we can’t be,” Gina complains as she lays out muffins and cakes for her clientele.

At the stadium, the stage is already taking shape, with drapes sporting a map of Mozambique with a cross. The pitch has already been covered, ready for white decking with hundreds of chairs for guests, in addition to all the benches and surrounding areas. About 80,000 people are expected.

Nearby, 53-year-old Zaida Mongane is also frustrated at not being able to do business on Friday, but considers it more important that the Pope “blesses the Mozambicans” – and her small business, selling pestles to de-husk rice and crush and grind food.

“We want the Pope to make a prayer for our businesses to thrive,” she adds, underlining the importance of peace for the country.

Gina and Zaida’s concerns are common to all Mozambicans: that peace is a vital condition for development.

“We are in this process of reconciliation and the Pope’s visit will make peace brighter,” 28-year-old Meque Samboco says, in allusion to the agreement signed on August 6 between the government and the opposition Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) party.

“The Pope is an ineluctable figure. For us he is an asset, in terms of blessings,” the student of Educational Sciences in Portugal says, himself just “fortunate” to have his holidays coincide with the Pope’s visit.

The Pope’s visit runs from Wednesday to Friday, and the government has decreed a public holiday on Friday so that all those so inclined can go to mass at the Zimpeto National Stadium.

In a video message preparatory to his visit, Pope Francis called for a fraternal and definitive reconciliation leading to lasting peace in Mozambique.

Source: Lusa