The visit the Catholic Bishops of the Sudan are making to the Pope and to the Vatican offices is a very precious moment for the Church and the people of the Sudan should feel its benefits, a bishop said.
Bishop Caesar Mazzolari of Rumbek told Radio Good News he was looking forward for the visit ad limina Catholic bishops have to pay to the Holy Father and the Holy See offices that assist him in the government of the Church, the so called Vatican dicasteries or congregations.Bishop Mazzolari said the high moments of the visit are the personal meeting with the Pope and the prayer at the Tomb of St. Peter for their dioceses, their faithful and for the country.
He added that the bishops are going to the Vatican in a prayerful attitude.
Bishop Mazzolari disclosed that the delegation of the 13 bishops will be headed the Cardinal of Khartoum, Archbishop Gabriel Zubeir Wako, and by the president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference (SCBC), Bishop Rudolf Deng of Wau.
Retired Bishop of Tombuta-Yambio Joseph Abangite Gasi is the only SCBC member not travelling to the Vatican due to health problems.
Cardinal Zubeir will present the SCBC report to Pope Benedict.
The ad limina visit of the Sudan Catholic Bishops starts on Monday with a meeting with the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples.
On Thursday, the bishops will start their individual meetings with Pope Benedict, being Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro of Juba the first to be received.
The visit ends on Sunday, March 14.