Pope Francis wraps up the Uganda leg of his three-nation Africa tour Sunday after vast crowds held euphoric celebrations in his honour. He will now be heading to his most dangerous destination: the conflict-ridden Central African Republic.
Huge crowds of Ugandans greeted Francis as he honoured Christians martyred for the faith on the second leg of his first trip to Africa, which he dubbed “the continent of hope”.
The 78-year-old pontiff received a rapturous welcome as he visited a martyrs’ shrine at Namugongo, just outside the capital Kampala, to honour more than 40 Christians who were executed in the 19th century for refusing to recant their faith.
Francis, who railed against corruption and wealthy minorities who hoard resources at the expense of the poor in neighbouring Kenya, struck a more optimistic tone when he arrived in Uganda on Friday.
“The world looks to Africa as the continent of hope,” he said in his opening speech, hailing the east African nation for accommodating hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring war-torn states.
In CAR, one of the poorest and most unstable countries in Africa, rights groups hope the Argentinian-born pope will address the religious violence that has torn the country apart for more than two years.
Thousands of believers are expected to pour into the capital Bangui to see him, many of from neighbouring countries, and workers have been in overdrive paving potholes in the streets and preparing the cathedral square in the pope’s honour.
