Moving video of Pope Francis kneeling to kiss the feet of South Sudan leaders at the Vatican, to maintain the peace between them without returning to the civil war, has been widely circulating on the internet.
The 83-year-old Pope who was aided by his assistants was seen in a video posted by the Vatican kneeling to kiss the feet of President Salva Kiir Mayardit then moving to Vice President-designate Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior in a step that broke the papal protocol.
“I’m asking you with my heart,” the Pope said to Salva Kiir, and the opposition leader, Riek Machar. “Stay in peace,” he added.
MUST WATCH: Very moving & emotional moment when #PopeFrancis kneels and kisses the feet of leaders of #SouthSudan, begging them from ‘my heart’ to keep the peace, and not to return to war, in spite of the problems bound to arise. The #Pope reiterated his wish to visit the nation pic.twitter.com/P7ErJu6VGj
— Deborah Castellano Lubov (@DeborahLubov) April 11, 2019
This comes during a 2-day spiritual retreat in the Vatican city for the South Sudan leaders who had been in years of civil war before signing a peace agreement in 2018 in Ethiopia.
