“He calls for a peace that is not merely the absence of war, but one rooted in healing, justice, and the protection of human dignity,” Sr. Ndilu, who also serves as a Consulter of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication (DFC) since her appointment in September 2022 said.
She further noted the Pope’s concern for Africa, recalling that the continent had been intended as the destination of his first Apostolic Journey.
Referring to the Pope’s four-nation tour of Africa, Sr. Ndilu said the 267th Pontiff denounced “the masters of war” and “a handful of tyrants” who destroy in moments “what takes lifetimes to rebuild.”
She also cited remarks by Robert Walter Cardinal McElroy of Washington DC, who described Pope Leo XIV as “the singular clarion voice in our global community about the need for peace and safeguarding human dignity.”
The Kenyan Catholic Sister noted that unlike his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV began his Pontificate with firsthand knowledge of Africa, having visited Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern, and Central Africa before his election.
In Malawi, Fr. Madeya congratulated the Holy Father on completing one year since his election on 8 May 2025, and commended his leadership of the Universal Church.
“I would like to wish His Holiness Pope Leo XIV all the best as he is clocking one year of his Pontificate,” Fr. Madeya said during the Thursday, May 7 interview with ACI Africa.
The Malawi PMS Director, who previously described the Pope’s recent visit to Africa as significant for mission and vocation in the Church in Africa, particularly in strengthening the local Church’s role as a missionary agent, praised the Holy Father for “standing for the truth at a time when human life is under threat” and for having the courage “to be the voice of the voiceless.”
He said the Pope’s witness to truth and justice continues to inspire Catholics around the world and strengthen the Church’s mission of evangelization and solidarity with suffering people.
As Pope Leo XIV marks one year since his election, Catholic Church leaders across Africa have described his Pontificate as marked by pastoral closeness, missionary renewal, peace advocacy, and attention to the peripheries of the Church.