Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 311

The intimate bond existing between Africa and Christianity from the

beginning can be illustrated by recalling some significant moments in the

Christian history of this continent.

According to the venerable patristic tradition, the Evangelist Saint Mark,

who " handed down in writing the preaching of Peter ",2 came to Alexandria

to give new life to the seed planted by the Lord. This Evangelist bore witness

in Africa to the death of the Son of God on the Cross - the final moment of

the kenosis - and of his sovereign exaltation, in order that " every tongue

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father ".3

The Good News of the coming of the Kingdom of God spread rapidly in

North Africa, where it raised up distinguished martyrs and saints, and pro-

duced outstanding theologians.

Christianity lasted for almost a millennium in the north-eastern part of

your continent, after being put to the test by the vicissitudes of history. With

the arrival of Europeans seeking the passage to the Indies in the fifteenth and

sixteenth centuries, the sub-Saharan peoples encountered Christ. The coastal

peoples were the first to receive Baptism. In the nineteenth and twentieth

centuries, sub-Saharan Africa saw the arrival of missionaries, men and wom-

en from throughout the West, from Latin America and even from Asia. I wish

to pay homage to the generosity of their unconditional response to the Lord's

call, and to their ardent apostolic zeal. Here, I would also like to speak of the

African catechists, the inseparable companions of the missionaries in evan-

gelization. God prepared the hearts of certain African lay persons, men and

women, young and old alike, to receive his gifts and to bring the light of his

word to their brothers and sisters. Laity in the midst of laity, they were able

to find in their ancestral languages the words of God which would touch the

hearts of their brothers and sisters. They were able to share the savour of the

salt of the word and to give splendour to the light of the sacraments which

they proclaimed. They accompanied families in their spiritual growth, they

encouraged priestly and religious vocations, and they served as a link bet-

ween their communities and the priests and Bishops. Quite naturally, they

brought about a successful inculturation which yielded wondrous fruit.4 The

catechists allowed their " light to shine before others ",5 for in seeing the good

3 0 O t t o b r e 2 0 0 9 - 0 9 : 3 7 p a g i n a 3 1 1 e : / 0 6 9 1 _ 9/L a v o r o/Ac t a _Ap r i l e _ 9 . 3 d GRECCO

2 S. Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses III, I, 1. 3 Phil 2, 11. 4 Cfr. Mk 4, 20. 5 Mt 5, 16.