Pope Francis in DR Congo Day 3 – ‘African Romero’
In his final hours in the Democratic of the Congo, Pope Francis met with the country’s bishops, telling them to imitate a famed Congolese Jesuit archbishop who was martyred in 1996, and who’s been dubbed the “Romero of Africa.”
Archbishop Christophe Munzihirwa of Bukavu, in what was then still called “Zaire,” was killed on Oct. 29, 1996, as largely Tutsi Rwandan troops poured into the eastern part of the country, looking for Hutu militants to slay. The civil and military leaders of the region, representing the last shreds of the crumbling autocratic regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, had fled weeks before, knowing that Mobutu was doomed and the Rwandans were unstoppable.
Source: CRUXNow
