Pope Francis concluded his peace mission in South Sudan on Sunday, February 5, urging an end to the nation’s ethnic conflicts, as he celebrated mass in the country’s capital, Juba.

In his last public engagement on the African continent, the Pope presided at an open-air mass in front of a large crowd at the John Garang Mausoleum.

The Pope called on the country’s leaders to focus on ending conflict by overcoming hatred that he said risked “pitting tribes and ethnic groups against one another.”

Since becoming independent in 2011, South Sudan has been plagued by civil war driven by ethnic tensions.

Footage by Elise Ann Allen shows the pontiff and his motorcade driving past the gathered crowd.

Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba told SSBC, that Pope Francis had left a message of hope and a call for the people of South Sudan to remain together and strive toward peace, Vatican News reported.

The Pope had a similar message of peace and reconciliation when he visited the Democratic Republic of Congo just days before. Credit: Elise Ann Allen, Crux Media via Storyful