Pan African Congress for Catholic Laity

July 14, 2012: "Being witnesses of Jesus Christ in Africa today. 'Salt of the earth ... light of the World'" is the theme of the forthcoming Pan African Congress for Catholic Laity, scheduled for 4 to 9 September in Yaounde, Cameroon. It is being organised by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The initiative is part of the council's tradition of organizing continental and/or regional congresses for Catholic lay people in various parts of the world.

The event will be held at the Catholic University of Central Africa, and the decision to hold the congress in Africa is related to the Holy Father's apostolic trip to Cameroon and Angola in 2009 and, more recently, his visit to Benin in November 2011 to sign the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Africae Munus".

According to a communique released on Friday: "the meeting demonstrates the commitment of the Pontifical Council for the Laity to journey together with the particular Churches. It also helps the laity to live their faith in communion with their pastors and to rediscover their co-responsibility for the Church’s mission in its many fields of apostolate".