Cardinal Lavigerie and Pope Francis, good shepherds of Christ

Shared by Sr. Nathalie Sedogo, Deli, Chad

Men of Prayer

Pope Francis and Cardinal Lavigerie both had a faith rooted in prayer. Christ was the center and reference point of their lives. According to those close to him, Pope Francis began his day with a long prayer. For him, “the key that opens faith is prayer” (statement to Vatican Radio, 7/10/2013). Cardinal Lavigerie was also a man of prayer and faith. “Among the obligations of apostolic life, it is important to place prayer above all else.”

He insisted: “Just as the body would perish if deprived of air, so souls would wither and march toward death if they had not been refreshed and nourished by prayer.”

Very human and good shepherds of Christ

Pope Francis invites priests to be pastors “permeated with the scent of their sheep,” that is, to reach out to people in their daily lives and even to the peripheries of their existence. For Cardinal Lavigerie, missionaries must be apostles and nothing less. Be close to the people to whom we are sent. He said to this effect: We must make ourselves like them by adopting their outward way of life, their clothing, their food, their language; in a word, by being all to all to win them to Jesus Christ.

Men of encounter and interreligious dialogue

Cardinal Lavigerie was a man of faith, broad-minded. He showed particular attention to Muslims. After his meeting with the Muslim leader Abdel Kader during the massacres of Christians in Lebanon and Syria, he would later say that this was his “road to Damascus.” The Missionaries of Africa and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa inherited from him this value of dialogue with Muslims.

During his pontificate, Pope Francis constantly worked for interreligious dialogue, considering human fraternity essential to world peace.

He considered peaceful coexistence between religions essential to world peace and that different religious traditions had a key role to play in combating intolerance. (See “Document on Human Fraternity”)

Men of Justice and Peace

Lavigerie was a defender of human rights. The fight against slavery in Africa was one of his great battles. “It is a merciless war,” he said. In this fight, he moved heaven and earth, and lost a good part of his health. When he spoke, as he did at the conference given in Rome in the Church of the Gesù, it was always with passionate overtones: “I am a man, and nothing human is alien to me (1). I am a man; injustice towards other men revolts my heart. I am a man; oppression outrages my nature. I am a man; cruelties against so many of my fellow men inspire me with nothing but horror. I am a man, and what I would have done to restore to myself freedom, honour, and the sacred bonds of family, I want to do to restore to the sons of this unfortunate race: family, honour, and freedom (E. 98).

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has never ceased to speak of peace. He invited Christians and all people of good will to cultivate peace within themselves. He did not hesitate to denounce injustices and the plundering of Africa’s natural resources.

He implored heads of state to break the chains of injustice and work toward dialogue and reconciliation, emphasizing that “peace is not limited to the absence of war; it requires a profound transformation of hearts and structures.”

A Special Devotion to Mary

Pope Francis had a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, whom he saw as a maternal figure, disciple, friend, and model of faith. He honored her as Mother of the Church and Mother of the World. He considered her the one who leads us to Jesus and the one who intercedes for us and supports us in our worries. He entrusted all his travels to Mary, Salus Populi Romani, in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome. Cardinal Lavigerie also had a particular devotion to Mary. For him, Mary was the ultimate model. When he founded the White Fathers and the White Sisters, he consecrated both Institutes to Mary, Our Lady of Africa.