Pope Francis has prayed for Nigerians and many lives across the world who were cut short by violence and war in 2023.
As reported by the Vatican News, after the Angelus prayer on Sunday, December 31, 2023, Pope Francis appealed to those who have a “stake” in armed conflicts to “listen to the voice of their conscience”.
The Pope said: “At the end of the year, let us have the courage to ask ourselves: “How many lives have been shattered by armed conflict? How many deaths? And how much destruction, how much suffering… how much poverty!”
He made the appeal after his sad reflection on 2023, which was marred by violence, death, destruction and displacement.
The Pope recalled the sad Christmas celebration in Nigeria’s Plateau State where over 140 people were killed and scores more injured on Christmas Eve in communal violence.
He said, “Sadly, the celebration of Christmas in Nigeria was marked by serious violence, in Plateau state, with many victims. I pray for them and their families: May God deliver Nigeria from these horrors.”
His thoughts were also with “those who lost their lives in the fuel truck explosion in Liberia,” where 52 people died after a fuel tanker crashed and exploded recently near the capital, Monrovia. Many injured people remain in hospital in critical condition.
Also, he prayed for people suffering from wars and called for prayers for “the tormented Ukrainian people, the Palestinian and Israeli people, the Sudanese people and many others.”
