Nuncio asks for prayers after long-awaited Sudan visit

Archbishop Seamus Patrick Horgan, the apostolic nuncio to South Sudan, recently spent 10 days in Sudan as the country remains in a state of civil war.

“I’m just arriving at the end of a 10-day visit to Sudan, to the Church in Sudan and to the country which I have long wished to [visit], being nuncio in South Sudan,” Horgan told Vatican News. Horgan, who became the apostolic nuncio of South Sudan in 2024, also has Sudan in his territory.

By various metrics, Sudan ranks at the top of the list of the world's most serious humanitarian crises, simply because of the sheer number of people involved.

“I thank God that the trip was able to occur, that it unfolded in safety, because of course, the country is still quite unstable and the situation is unforeseeable," Archbishop Horgan told Vatican News.

"Still, I thank God that it unfolded safely and that we were able to achieve what we wanted to and particularly that we were able to meet with the Christian communities and assure them of the closeness of the Church," he added.

Sudan and South Sudan split into two countries in 2011 following a vote for South Sudanese independence. While South Sudan is about 60% Christian, Sudan is nearly entirely Muslim. Only about 3% of Sudan is Christian. Still, this made for more than 1.2 million Catholics in early 2023.

The country descended into civil war in April 2023, and the conflict is still expanding, even spilling over the borders of Sudan.

Archbishop Horgan visited Sudan, he said, “to bring a word of closeness and of encouragement from the Pope to this much tried local church in Sudan."

With the past two years of civil war, not only have thousands of people been killed, but nearly 12 million people have been forced out of their homes, said Vatican News.

This figure includes four million people forced to flee Sudan as refugees. In August 2024, famine was declared in some regions and it has extended to at least 10 regions so far.

While in Sudan, Archbishop Horgan met with local Catholics and celebrated Mass in the capital city of Khartoum, as well as in Atbara, Omdurman, and Port Sudan, said Vatican News.

He also met with governmental officials, stressing the importance of religious and cultural freedom. The leaders, he said, were "very receptive" and glad he had visited the country.

The officials, said Archbishop Horgan, “appreciated the Pope’s concerns for Sudan and his concern for peace.”

The Catholics in Sudan have "been very, very hard pressed from every side," he said. Archbishop Horgan's visit and message from Pope Leo XIV was "very greatly welcomed by the Catholics here."

“In every occasion the faithful participated in large numbers and with joy, with enthusiasm,” Archbishop Horgan told Vatican News. “I was very happy to be able to communicate this message to them. And I think the presence of the nuncio is symbolic for them. It meant that the wider Church was expressing its concern and assuring its prayers.”

At each of his meetings in Sudan, "peace" was a central theme.

Archbishop Horgan hopes the Church worldwide echoes his prayers for peace and that the "cruel civil war" will soon come to an end.