Amidst uncertainty, Burkina Faso's Cardinal calls for a novena

(Vatican Radio) The news agency Fides reports that Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo, the Archbishop of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso has called for citizens to pray the novena for peace in the country.

The call to prayer by the Cardinal, comes in the wake of a popular uprising that forced President Blaise Compaoré to resign and seek exile in Côte d'Ivoire on 31 October 2014. In the ensuing confusion, the military has usurped power.

In his call to prayer, Cardinal Ouédraogo said,  "Daughters and sons of our family Church of God, I urge you to pray, from 2 -9 November. Pray for reconciliation, justice and peace in our country. Cardinal Ouédraogo has even composed a special novena prayer to be used by citizens in praying for freedom and peace. 

A novena (from the Latin, Novem, meaning Nine) is a devotional prayer said on nine successive days, asking God to grant the faithful their fervent requests or special graces. The novena may be private or public.

The political situation in Burkina Faso is still uncertain. Led by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida, the second in command of the Presidential Guard, the Army took advantage of the power vacuum, suspended civil powers and seized control of the Government.

The African Union (AU) and the United Nations’ Security Council are piling-up pressure on the military to return the country to constitutional rule or face sanctions. The AU has given the military two weeks in which to hand over power to a civilian-led transition Government.

According to Al Jezeera, In the face of international pressure and protests from locals who don't want the military to take over, Lieutenant Colonel Zida insists that, "We are not here to usurp power and to sit in place and run the country, but to help the country come out of this situation," Zida said, adding that a new head of state would be chosen following broad discussions with various civic groups. He has not given any time table or indicated which civilian the army had in mind for the transition Government.

It turns out that the Catholic Bishops of Burkina Faso, in their pastoral letter of 2013, warned about a young and angry society who did not have any prospects due to corrupt politics.

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