Congo Brazzaville is now consecrated to the Virgin Mary

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, concluded his visit to the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville, Africa) by an act of consecration of the country to the Virgin Mary, at the end of the Mass he celebrated on Saturday, February 4, 2017, in the Saint Anne National Basilica in Brazzaville.

The Cardinal celebrated Mass in the presence of some 3,000 faithful, Congolese President Denis Sassou N'Guesso and several representatives of the political, military and diplomatic authorities. In his homily, Cardinal Parolin exhorted the people "to live in peace and dialogue; to cultivate God's tenderness and compassion rather than resentment and hatred; sharing rather than selfishness; and unity rather than division and tribalism."

During this visit of February 1-4, to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Congo, Cardinal Parolin also visited the house of the Minims sisters who care for 70 poor elderly people. He recalled the words of the Pope on the elderly who are like the roots of a tree—if they are excluded from society, the tree dies.

Zenit