William Edmundson looks at how the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo have turned to the Catholic Church for a sense of hope.

In the DRC the separation of church and state takes on a whole new meaning. The state was once a private enterprise owned by the king of Belgium. After independence, rulers continued to steal resources for personal gain at the expense of the Congolese. Throughout this, the people – perhaps better described as the victims – have turned to churches for health, education and, most importantly, a sense of hope.

In the first of two programmes, William Edmundson looks at how the Catholic Church, supported by Belgian rule, became what many saw as the "only truly national institution apart from the state”. He looks at how people turned to churches, including a local offshoot of Protestantism – the Kimbanguists.

William travels to meet the spiritual leader of the Kimbanguists and absorbs himself in the beautiful singing that comes, literally from all four corners of the church.

(Photo: An elderly woman prays during the early morning mass at the Catholic Church of Zongo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: Federico Scoppa/AFP/Getty Images) Show less