Nigerians flock to pope's Mass

March 22, 1998
Web posted at: 1:51 p.m. EDT (1351 GMT)

ONITSHA, Nigeria (CNN) -- One of Nigeria's most revered Christian figures, ascetic monk Cyprian Michael Iwene Tansi, was beatified Sunday by Pope John Paul II at a special Mass.

Highlights from the Mass
	2 MB / 37 sec. / 240x180 1.3 MB / 37 sec. / 160x120 QuickTime movie

During the ceremony at the Oba airfield near Onitsha, the center of Nigerian Catholicism, the pope urged Nigerians to heed Tansi's way of life.

"He sought to reconcile his fellow countrymen with God and with one another," the pope told about 2 million people who gathered in 100-degree Fahrenheit (38 C) heat to hear him speak.

Beatification is the final step before possible Roman Catholic sainthood, and Tansi, who died in 1964, would be the first Nigerian saint.

The Vatican credits Tansi with one documented miracle: A Nigerian woman recovered from seemingly terminal cancer when she touched Tansi's coffin as his body was returned to Onitsha in 1986 from a British abbey where he was a monk.

The pope also urged Nigeria's brutal military regime to embrace rather than persecute its citizens.

"All Nigerians must work to rid society of everything that offends the dignity of the human person, or violates human rights," the pope said. "There can be no place for intimidation and domination of the poor and the weak."

Crowds gather before dawn

Starting before dawn, hundreds of thousands of people in crowded buses, motorbikes and on foot converged on the airfield. Many of them wore clothes made of purple, yellow and white commemorative cloth, with images of the pope and Tansi.

One after another, people praised the pope and urged him to help free their country from Gen. Sani Abacha's military regime and its dismal human rights record.

Abacha's regime was denounced worldwide in 1995 after the execution of dissident author Ken Saro-Wiwa.

In the weeks leading up to the pontiff's visit, scores of government opponents and pro-democracy activists were thrown in jail or harassed, said the group Human Rights Watch.

"My prayers are that he will bring us peace," said Ugwuanyi Evenin, 23, who walked 10 miles with her father to see the pope. "This is twice he comes to Nigeria; that means he likes the Nigerian people."

The pope's three-day tour is meant only to be a pastoral visit, not an official trip.

But the pope arrived Saturday in Nigeria's federal capital, Abuja, to a full ceremonial welcome, including military cannon salutes and greetings from hundreds of schoolchildren waving national flags. Abacha greeted the pope before the two moved to a sheltered dais for short public speeches.

Pope wants prisoners freed

Abacha, 54, a Muslim northerner, seized power in 1993 after annulling election results. He is expected to run in new elections he has promised for August 1. Of five political parties approved to put forward presidential candidates, four want Abacha as their candidate.

On Saturday, the pope appealed to him to grant clemency to 60 political detainees from a list compiled by the Civil Liberties Organization, a Lagos-based group.

The Vatican revealed none of the names on the list, saying only that they were well known. Nigeria's most prominent prisoners include millionaire businessman Moshood Abiola, widely believed to have won the 1993 election, and former military ruler Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo.

Although Abacha did not agree to free anyone on the list, the Vatican said he promised to study the request and give "an appropriate response." After a similar appeal to Cuba's leadership during a papal visit in January, 299 Cuban prisoners, including more than 70 political detainees, were freed.

Later Sunday, the pope will meet in Abuja with leaders of Nigeria's Muslims, who comprise about 45 percent of the population. About 10 percent of Nigeria's 115 million people are Roman Catholic, 35 percent are members of other Christian denominations, and the rest adhere to indigenous animist religions.

The pope will conclude his trip with an open-air Mass in Abuja on Monday. It is expected to attract even more people than in Onitsha.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Nigerians gather to greet Pope - March 21, 1998

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• The Holy See - official site of the Vatican

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