"As artisans of peace and reconciliation, you have everything you need to prepare a better and more fraternal world."
During the general audience on August 6, 2025, Pope Leo XIV had a special greeting for pilgrims who had come from Burkina Faso and Niger to participate in the Youth Jubilee, urging them to be "artisans of peace."
In recent years, Christian communities in Burkina Faso and Niger have faced violent jihadist groups active in the Sahel, including an al-Qaeda-affiliated militant group known as Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM).
On August 24, 2024, an attack on a community in Barsalogho left nearly 200 dead and more than 100 injured. Pope Francis publicly condemned this "detestable attack on human life."
In Niger, the Catholic population is a small community — less than 2% of the population — compared to a clear Muslim majority. In Burkina Faso, Catholics represent more than 20% of the population, again predominantly Muslim.
No pope has ever visited Niger, and John Paul II is the only pontiff to have visited Burkina Faso — twice, in 1980, when the country was still called "Upper Volta," and in 1990.
Pope Leo told the pilgrims at the audience:
I joyfully greet the delegations of young people from Burkina Faso and Niger, who have come to Rome for the Jubilee of Young People. I want to repeat my prayer for your countries. You have come here as pilgrims of hope. Go forward, hope does not disappoint. As artisans of peace and reconciliation, you have everything you need to prepare a better and more fraternal world.
