Pope Francis prays for Cameroon amid persistent violence

The Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis I has said a special prayer for Cameroon with a focus on the violence that has engulfed the country over the last few years.

Cameroon’s English-speaking regions have been mired in an armed conflict that has persisted between the Cameroon military and armed Separatists fighting to create a state called ‘Ambazonia’. The violence has degenerated with both sides accused by rights groups of committing crimes against humanity as they target civilian populations.

Similarly, there has been persistent violence in the Northern regions of Cameroon where Boko Haram insurgents have attacked both the military and civilian populations.

In a mass celebrated on Sunday, August 13, 2023, in the Vatican, Pope Francis I prayed for peace and dialogue to end the years-long conflict in Cameroon.

Recalling that Monday, August 14, 2023, on the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the ‘Holy Father’ said “Peace pilgrimage will take place in Bafoussam, Cameroon, a nation still suffering from violence and war.”

“Let us join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Cameroon so that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God may sustain the hope of the people who have been suffering for years and open ways of dialogue to reach harmony and peace.” he prayed.

The Vatican has since the start of the Anglophone crisis offered prayers and advocated for a peaceful resolution of the crisis

The Pope also interceded for Hawaii and Ukraine’s stroke of natural disaster and war respectively.

In his greetings following the recitation of Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis turned his thoughts to the island of Maui, in Hawaii, when he “reassured his prayers for the victims of the wildfires that have devastated the area.”

The Pope’s words VaticanNews reported, followed a telegram he sent to the Apostolic Nuncio in the United States two days ago when he expressed his “solidarity with all those suffering from this tragedy, especially those whose loved ones have died or are missing,” while praying for “God’s blessings of strength and peace” on the people.

The death toll from the wildfires on Maui has reached 93, while hundreds remain missing.

The governor of Hawaii said the fires mark the largest natural disaster ever experienced, with an estimated 2,200 structures destroyed or damaged.

Pope Francis at the same time, asked everyone to continue to pray for the battered nation of Ukraine, suffering greatly due to the war.