AFRICA/MALI – Annual marian pilgrimage cancelled for security reasons

Bamako – The Bishops’ Conference of Mali announced that it has decided to cancel the 54th National Marian Pilgrimage to Kita due to transportation difficulties and fuel shortages caused by the blockade of the capital, Bamako, by the JNIM jihadists.
“Dear brothers and sisters, as every year, our Church is preparing for the national pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Kita, a special moment of faith, fraternal communion, and prayer for our country,” reads the statement, signed by Bishop Jonas Dembélé of Kayes, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Mali. “Given the current situation in our country, especially the difficulties in transporting pilgrims due to insufficient fuel supplies, the bishops, after careful consideration, have decided to cancel the 2025 national pilgrimage,” the statement continues. This decision, Bishop Dembélé continued, is the result of prayer and a sense of responsibility, and expresses the bishops’ pastoral concern for the well-being of all God’s people.
Nevertheless, the Bishops’ Conference calls on the faithful to “spend a time of prayer and spiritual communion with the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Mali, during the planned pilgrimage,” in the hope that “every individual’s prayer may be an intercession for peace, unity, and prosperity in our country.”
The activities of JNIM have long threatened the fuel supply to the capital, Bamako, and other cities in Mali . The jihadist group also carries out attacks on residential areas such as Kati and Kita and continues to perpetrate numerous kidnappings of foreigners.
Despite the grave uncertainty, BAMEX 2025, the first arms fair to be held in Mali, opened yesterday in Bamako. Numerous Turkish arms companies are participating in the event , and delegations from Niger, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Congo, Togo, Ghana, Nigeria, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, and Iran are also present.

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