Pope Leo Begins 10-Day Africa Tour To Highlight Continent’s Needs
Pope Leo Begins 10-Day Africa Tour To Highlight Continent’s Needs
Pope Leo XIV will depart on Monday, April 13, for his first major overseas trip of 2026, a 10-day journey to four African countries designed to draw global attention to the continent’s needs and to highlight the Church’s fastest-growing region.
From April 13 to 23, the pontiff will cover nearly 18,000 kilometres, visiting 11 cities and towns across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
The schedule includes 18 flights and a packed programme of meetings, speeches, and pastoral activities.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official and close adviser to the pope, described the visit as a sign of Leo’s commitment to Africa. “By heading to Africa so early in his pontificate, the pope shows that Africa matters,” Czerny said. “Leo wants to make sure that Africa is not forgotten by countries and people caught up in their own concerns.”
Vatican officials and African Church leaders note that the tour is a personal priority for Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope.
Africa is home to more than 20 percent of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, and the faith is expanding rapidly on the continent. Three of the four countries he will visit have large Catholic populations.
Equatorial Guinea, which has not hosted a pope since 1982, is over 70 percent Catholic, while Algeria is overwhelmingly Muslim, with fewer than 10,000 Catholics among roughly 48 million people.
This marks the 24th papal visit to Africa since the late 1960s. Rev. Mark Francis, a U.S. priest and longtime friend of the pope, highlighted the vibrancy of the African Church, saying it is “full of vocations to the religious life and priesthood.”
At 70 years old and in good health, Pope Leo plans to deliver 25 speeches during the trip and hold official meetings with political leaders and local Catholic communities.
In Algeria, the pope will promote Catholic-Muslim dialogue and visit the Great Mosque of Algiers, only his second visit to a mosque as pontiff. He will also travel to Annaba to see the ruins of ancient Hippo, a site of special significance as he belongs to the Augustinian order inspired by St. Augustine.
In Cameroon, he will hold a “meeting for peace” in Bamenda amid ongoing conflict between government forces and separatists that has claimed thousands of lives since 2017. In Angola and Equatorial Guinea, the visit will emphasise resilience and hope, including a prayer in Bata at the site of the deadly 2021 military barracks explosions that killed more than 100 people.
Rev. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, a Nigerian Jesuit, said the tour will present Africa “as a place of resilience and hope” and offers the pope an opportunity to deliver a message of peace and reconciliation in areas affected by political instability and religious tensions.
Djamila Cassoma, a lawyer and entrepreneur in Angola, expressed hope that the visit would raise global awareness of Africa’s challenges and potential. “The choice of Africa for this tour is not random.
Many of the major global challenges are concentrated here, but it is also here that they can be re-imagined,” she said.
The trip comes as Pope Leo has been vocal about the need for peace amid conflicts worldwide, including the ongoing war in Iran, and follows his earlier visits to Turkey, Lebanon, and Monaco.
