Pope Leo XIV has ended his 10-day African visit in Equatorial Guinea, which marks his first major international tour since assuming the position of head of the Catholic Church last year. The Pontiff began the tour on April 13 and visited Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in a journey……
Pope Leo XIV has ended his 10-day African visit in Equatorial Guinea, which marks his first major international tour since assuming the position of head of the Catholic Church last year.
The Pontiff began the tour on April 13 and visited Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in a journey of more than 18,000 kilometres across the continent.
TVC News previously reported that during his visit, the Pontiff was scheduled to deliver 11 speeches, preside over seven masses, and visit more than a dozen locations before the tour concludes on April 23.
On Wednesday, the pope went to Equatorial Guinea’s notorious Bata prison, where he was greeted by hundreds of shaven-headed inmates and made comments criticising living conditions.
On Thursday, the head of the Catholic Church celebrated a mass at 10:00 am (0900 GMT) at a stadium in Malabo, the former capital of the former Spanish colony of two million inhabitants.
Speaking about his visit on his official X handle, Pope Leo said, “I leave #Africa with an immeasurable treasure of faith, hope, and charity. This treasure consists of stories, faces, and testimonies, both joyful and sorrowful, which will greatly enrich my life and ministry as the Successor of Peter.
“As in the early centuries of the Church, Africa is now called to make a decisive contribution to the holiness and missionary character of the Christian people. #ApostolicJourney“
He then departed for Rome and will hold a traditional press conference on the plane for the journalists accompanying him, which will be closely watched given Trump’s harsh criticism of him.
During the African tour, the 70-year-old pontiff addressed a wide range of issues, including interfaith dialogue with Islam, peacebuilding, inequality, and human rights.
The pope arrived in Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday after stops in Algeria, Cameroon and Angola.
Leaders of those countries have all been criticised, in varying degrees, including authoritarian rule.
According to East Coast Radio, Leo, throughout the trip, has taken strong stands, as when he denounced those who “in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it.”
On Wednesday, Pope Leo called for “spaces of freedom to increase” and denounced the “worrying hygiene and health conditions” of the country’s prisoners.
Ahead of his African tour, Pope Leo was embroiled in a backlash involving United States President Donald Trump.
Trump had condemned Pope Leo over his criticism of U.S. actions in the Gulf region and his calls for peace amid the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran.
The Pontiff replied to Trump, saying the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he did not fear the Trump administration.
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump unleashed a storm of criticism at Leo, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
