Catholic Student Leaders Gathered in Addis Ababa commit to work together to Reimagine Youth Leadership and Synodality in Africa

By: Fasika Lachore Laba, Secretary-General International Movement of Catholic Students Pax Romana.

The 14th Pan-African Assembly of the International Movement of Catholic Students Pax Romana Africa concluded on October 31st in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It opened on October 24th and was attended by over 75 Catholic student leaders, university chaplains, animators, and ecclesial dignitaries representing more than 25 African countries. Guided by the theme, Building a Synodal Church for a Just and Resilient Africa: Deepening the International Movement of Catholic Students Pax Romana Africa and Youth Contribution, the 75 delegates and 100 others who participated online, reviewed the movement’s activities in the past four years, and defined the Pan-African Strategic Plan 2027/ 2031, in addition to electing new Pan-African coordinators and a chaplain. The assembly coincided with the 70th anniversary since the Movement began its apostolate on the African continent in 1956.  The retired archbishop of Addis Ababa, Cardinal Souraphiel Berhaneyesus, CM, presided over the opening holy mass and in his homily, he called on Catholic students to be missionary disciples and ethical leaders within higher education and public life, emphasising that university campuses in Africa are places still in need of the proclamation of the gospel.

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Transforming the world through Christ

One of the distinguished key note speakers, Marcel Carlos Akpovo, who serves as United Nations Human Rights Regional Director for East and Southern Africa and former movement leader from Benin, called upon the delegates, in one of the sessions, to draw inspiration from the prophetic spirit of the movement’s founders. He narrated that he attended one of the assemblies 33 years ago at Makerere University in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, and that, he and other leaders stepped into leadership with modest material means but with an abundance of purpose, “yet we possessed the founding spirit of Pax Romana, a spirit of vision, prophecy, and transformational faith”, “adding that, “in a world marked by brutality, division, and dishonesty, Catholic students are the custodians of the Church’s conscience. We are called to be our brothers' keepers, moving beyond individual duty to collective responsibility as we address Artificial Intelligence, digital technology, climate change through Laudato Si', and human rights. We created this movement so that the world should not remain as it is, but be transformed through Jesus Christ.”

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Necessity of integral human formation

The delegates paid a visit to the Headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa where they were addressed by the Chaplain of the African Union, Fr. Dr. Louison Emerick Bissila Mbila, C.S.Sp. Speaking about the African Union’s Peace and Security Agenda 2063, which envisions a peaceful and secure Africa that is free from conflict, gender-based violence, terrorism, and transnational crime, Fr. Mbila invited catholic students to use their moral formation to build early warning conflict networks, to promote democratic governance, and to champion peace across volatile regions on the African continent. The delegates also visited the St. John Paul II TVET college, a catholic technical and vocational training institution in Addis Ababa. Its founding member and pastoral coordinator, Abba Petros Berga, addressed them and emphasised the necessity of integral human formation to discourage illegal youth migration. He said, “a young person is a whole human being, with both body and soul needing care. It is not enough to ask young people not to risk dangerous migration across the Mediterranean Sea or the Gulf; we must provide practical skills, such as solar installation, ICT, videography, and music, connected to real jobs so they can live with dignity and hope at home.”

The assembly addressed a number of other current issues that affect the African continent, including climate change. It closed with the celebration of Holy mass presided over by the Archbishop of Addis Ababa, His Grace Tesfasilasie Tadesse, and a communique in which members of the International Movement of Catholic Students Pax Romana Africa committed themselves to building a self-sustaining and structurally resilient movement, and to ensure that young Catholic intellectuals actively co-shape the future of the Church in Africa and the African continent in general.