Kinshasa, Feb 1 (AFP/APP): A huge crowd of singing and dancing worshippers turned out to attend a papal mass in DR Congo’s capital Wednesday, on the second day of Pope Francis’s visit to the conflict-torn country.
Many tens of thousands of people flocked to the tarmac of Kinshasa’s N’Dolo airport for the open-air mass, which is due to begin at 9:30 am local time (0830 GMT).
Many of the faithful in the deeply observant megacity of some 15 million people began to arrive at the airport on Tuesday night to assure themselves of a spot.
Adrien Louka, 55, told AFP he had arrived before dawn.
“As our country has many problems, it is reconciliation that we are looking for and the Pope will give a message so that the countries around us leave us in peace,” added the man, who was sporting a colourful shirt bearing the logo of the papal visit.
As crowds poured into the airport under a bright sun and heavy security, 700 choir singers rehearsed in a festive atmosphere, while worshippers danced and waved flags.
The 86-year-old pontiff had arrived in the DRC on Tuesday, on the first leg of a six-day trip to Africa that will also include troubled South Sudan.
Huge crowds had also thronged the streets for a glimpse of the popemobile as Francis drove past.
A former Belgian colony the size of continental western Europe, the DRC is Africa’s most Catholic country.
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