Br. Agostinho Augusto | CAMSA Correspondent | Maputo | Mozambique
From April 13 to April 23, Pope Leo XIV have geared up a pastoral visit to 4 countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinee. This visit marks a significant moment of closeness and solidarity with the continent, particularly in a time when the world and Africa in general are raveged by conflicts, wars and injustices. Throughout the journey, the Holy Father emphasized a message of hope, dignity, and justice, meeting with local communities and encouraging the Church’s mission among those most in need.
In Cameroon and Angola, where the Capuchin presence is long standing and visible in their commitment to pastoral care, education, and social outreach, the pope expressed gratitude for Church dedication to the poor and the forgotten.
Across the first three countries, Pope Leo made a point of encountering the poor, the sick, the childreen and the marginalized. He visited hospitals, informal settlements, and community centers, blessed the kids along the way offering words of comfort and solidarity. In each encounter, he called for renewed compassion and practical support for those who suffer, urging both local leaders and the international community to respond with concrete action. The capuchins in these countries feel encouraged in their mission to serve the needy and those with lesser voice.
Addressing both civil and ecclesial authorities in Luanda, Pope Leo warned against longstanding patterns of economic exploitation asserting that “too often your regions have been, and still are, looked upon in order to give – or more often, to take something”, he said, calling for “this chain of interests, which reduces reality and life itself to a commodity”, to be broken. After Angola, the Pope will sum up his pastoral journey to the Continent by visiting Equatorial Guinee from 21 to 23 April 2026 before returning to Rome.
