Pope Francis with President Kiir
Francis – the Pope who kissed African feet
By Femi Olugbile
On Thursday the 12th of April 2019, a unique event took place at the Pope’s residence at the Vatican. Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of Saint Peter the Prince of the Apostles and Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, an eighty-two year old man who suffered from arthritis and was breathing with so much difficulty that the wheezing could be heard all across the ample room, knelt down, one by one, before the leaders of South Sudan, and kissed their feet. Those feet were ensconced in expensive leather shoes that gleamed with polish, so the kissing of the feet ritual was more symbolic than physical. Still, everyone present was stunned by the gravity of the gesture.
The gathering was a two-day prayer and preaching exercise convened by the Vatican. It brought together the leaders of South Sudan, then the newest independent nation in Africa, to invoke the name of God to heal bitter divisions that had arisen in the young nation and bedevilled its life almost from the moment of its birth. Christian South Sudan had achieved independence from predominantly Muslim Sudan in 2011 after a long and brutal civil war in which thousands of lives had been lost. In Africa and beyond, there was excitement at the possibilities embodied by the new nation, with its vast oil wealth and small population. The hope was that South Sudan would be the exemplar of modern, dynamic, progressive nation-building in Africa.
Within two years, South Sudan was embroiled in a bitter civil war. President Salva Kiir, a man from the Dinka ethnic group, sacked his Vice President, Riek Machar, who was from the Nuer nationality. All hell was let loose. 400,000 people died in the ensuing civil war. More than one third of the population were uprooted from their homes, becoming internally displaced persons. South Sudan became host to Africa’s worst refugee crisis since the Rwanda genocide of 1994. The dream had gone awry, it seemed.
‘I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace,’ pleaded Pope Francis before the South Sudanese leaders, sounding like a humble supplicant. Among the people in the room was the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. The historical context was delicate. There had been a coup in Sudan itself only a few days before then, and it was feared that this might reignite war between the two Sudans. The South Sudanese leaders in the room had signed a peace accord only a few months before, but it was uncertain if they would implement it. ‘…There will be struggles… disagreements among you, but keep them within you…in front of the people, hold hands united…’
On Tuesday 21st April 2025, a day after celebrating Christ’s Resurrection with scores of the faithful at St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis died.
A native Argentine, Francis was the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first to be born and raised outside Europe since the 8th century Gregory III, who came from Syria. He was a Jesuit, committed to a personal life of poverty, and the first of the group to ascend to the papacy.
Elected Pope on 28th February 2013, he took the name Francis in honour of St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan Order, patron saint of poor people, animals and the environment. Where his predecessor Benedict XVI had stood for tradition and all the panoply of established order, Pope Francis from his early days as Archbishop of Buenos Aires showed the common touch and humility which were to become the hallmarks of his reign. He wore simple vestments and resided in modest quarters.
He strove to bring peace, love and mutual respect to an increasingly chaotic world. He played a pivotal role in the restoration of full diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States of America during the presidency of Barack Obama. He tried to help find a just and lasting resolution to the long-running conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, signing a treaty recognising the state of Palestine, even as he invited the Israeli President Shimon Peres and the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas to a prayer summit at the Vatican. More lately, he condemned the Hamas attack of 7th October 2023, and criticised Israel’s actions in the subsequent war in Gaza.
He sought to alleviate the sufferings of refugees and migrants world-wide. He decried the rise of right wing, populist governments, and issued a rebuff when the new American Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, tried to justify the Trump government’s hostility to immigrants by citing the Catholic idea of ‘ordo amoris’ (the right to order one’s love by prioritising kinship). The Pope countered his argument by quoting the parable of ‘The Good Samaritan’ as the true example of ‘ordo amoris’.
Even as he tried to improve relationship with the Muslim world, he condemned the persecution of Christians by ISIL and other extremist groups and governments.
Inevitably he ran into controversy when he urged that homosexuality should not be seen as a criminal offence, and decided to allow gay couples to receive blessing, though without the formal rituals of Christian marriage.
He visited ten countries in Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and, yes, South Sudan.
A few days ago, there was a Mass at St Theresa Cathedral, Kator, in Juba, South Sudan to celebrate the life of the departed Pope. South Sudanese from all works of life were there to pay their respects to a man who not only kissed their leaders’ feet but visited their country in 2023 to rekindle their hope and faith. At the Mass, President Salva Kiir, whose shoe he had kissed, reflected on the late Pope’s message of forgiveness and inclusivity.
Peaceful development in South Sudan remains work in progress, with the outcome not yet a foregone conclusion.
But Pope Francis is gone to meet his maker. May his soul rest in peace.
