Pope visits psychiatric hospital in Equatorial Guinea, urges love over stigma

MALAMBA – Pope Leo closed out his first day in Equatorial Guinea by visiting a psychiatric hospital in a culture where mental illness is often stigmatized and met with social exclusion, saying God loves each person as they are and seeks their healing.

During his April 21 visit, the pope said he has mixed feelings whenever he visits a hospital, and that “on the one hand, I feel sorrow for the patients and their families. On the other, I admire and am comforted by all that is done there each day to serve human life.”

However, he said that each time he visits a hospital, he finds that “joy prevails. It is the joy of meeting in the name of the Lord and of caring for those who are in frail health.”

Leo said he was moved by the testimonies he heard, including a greeting from the director of the facility, who said, “a truly great society is not one that hides its weaknesses, but one that surrounds them with love.”

“This is a principle of a civilization with Christian roots, for in the course of human history Christ came to redeem and restore to full dignity those who suffer from the stigma of disability,” he said.

The pope visited the “Jean Pierre Olie” Psychiatric Hospital, named after a French doctor from Paris, as the last event on his schedule after landing in Equatorial Guinea earlier that morning.

After touching down, he held a private meeting with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo before delivering a speech to national authorities and members of the diplomatic corps, condemning the exploitation of oil and minerals that has long plagued Africa, and calling the country to work for justice and peace.

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He then held a cultural event at the León XIV Campus of the National University in Malabo, offering a reflection on the relationship between scientific knowledge and faith, before visiting the Jean Pierre Olie Pychiatric Hospital.

Olie, who died in 2023, was a specialist in schizophrenia and was considered one of the greatest clinicians in mental illness. He worked at Saint Anne’s psychiatric hospital, a renowned mental health facility in the heart of Paris, and authored more than 300 scientific articles. He also founded the Congress of Psychiatry, which attracts more than 4,000 psychiatrists annually.

After arriving, the pope heard various testimonies, including from a former patient, Tarcisio Cervera, who has been reintegrated into society and who wrote a poem for Pope Leo, who he said represents God and “drives away all evil and gives strength to the soul.”

The poem, which Cervera read aloud, spoke of showing humility and the need to give voice to joy.

“You came from on high to show us excellence” he said, and praised the pope’s example of meekness and humble empathy, guiding the blind and consoling the afflicted, saying, “May you be a blessing to the afflicted soul and a comfort to the needy, from now and forever.”

A current patient at the facility, Pedro Celestino Nzerem Koose, called the pope’s visit “a ray of light” for those admitted, whose lives he said are often “marked by suffering,” as many are victims “of discrimination and social rejection.”

“However, you came to us, with your compassionate gaze and heart overflowing with love,” he said, and thanked the pope for the message of loving acceptance that he brought, and for his commitment to the marginalized and vulnerable.

“Your visit reminds us that we are not alone, that we are seen, heard, and that we deserve to be loved, respected, and cared for,” he said.

In remarks, the director of the hospital, Tunisian Doctor Bechir Ben Hadj Ali, said the staff’s goal is to cure the “invisible wounds” and “invisible pain” that cause deep wounds in society.

Ali said Leo’s visit to the hospital was indicative that mental health is “an integral part of human dignity.”

“Mental illness is not a weakness, not a fatality, nor reason for shame. It is a human challenge that requires compassion, science, faith and solidarity,” Ali said.

He said the hospital seeks to work on a scientific and ethical basis, with a great respect for the human person, while also trying “to fight stigma, strengthen professional formation, support families, and integrate mental health in the public policies of our country.”

Prayer is a regular part of daily life at the facility, the director said, adding, “caring for mental health is caring for the soul of our societies.”

Ali thanked the pope for his visit and for helping them make the hospital “a sanctuary of dignity and light.”

In his speech, Pope Leo said that God loves each person as they are and seeks to save humanity, but cannot do so without their cooperation, “both on a personal and a social level.”

“Therefore, he asks us to love our brothers and sisters not just in words, but also in deeds,” he said, saying the hospital, “with God’s help and everyone’s commitment, can become a sign of the civilization of love.”

Leo thanked patients for the witness they provide, reiterating Celestino’s affirmation that, “God loves us just as we are.”

“In reality, only God truly loves us just as we are, but he does not intend for us to stay that way! No, God does not want us to remain sick forever; he wants to heal us!” he said.

This is demonstrated repeatedly in the Gospels, the pope said, saying Jesus “came to love us just as we are, yet he does not want us to stay that way, but rather to care for us!”

“A hospital, especially one with a Christian mission, is a place where a person is welcomed just as they are and respected in their frailty, so that they can be helped to get better according to a holistic vision,” he said.

To this end, Pope Leo said the spiritual dimension of healing “is essential,” and thanked Ali for emphasizing the point.

He also thanked Cervera for his poem, saying the hospital environment is one in which “many hidden ‘poems’ are composed every day, not with words, but with small gestures, with thoughtfulness and kindness in your relationships with one another.”

“It is a poem that only God can fully read and which consoles the merciful Heart of Christ,” he said.

Leo closed his remarks, asking those present to convey his closeness to all of the sick admitted to the facility, “especially those who are most seriously ill and most alone.”

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