Leo XIV’s Africa tour

Pope Leo XIV ended his first Africa trip in Equatorial Guinea, pairing tributes to Pope Francis with appeals on inequality, prisons and political freedom. (vaticannews.va) Leo arrived in Malabo on April 21 for the fourth and final stop of an 11-day tour that also took him to Algeria, Cameroon and Angola. Vatican News said he was due to stay until April 23, and Reuters reported he spent April 22 in Mongomo and Bata. (vaticannews.va) (usnews.com) On April 22, one day after the first anniversary of Francis’s death, Leo visited the Pope Francis Technology School in Mongomo, a vocational school for young people, and called Francis “a great gift” to the church. Vatican News said the school focuses on technical and professional training. (vaticannews.va) At Mass in Mongomo, Leo urged Equatorial Guinea to narrow the gap “between the privileged and the disadvantaged.” Reuters and the Associated Press said he delivered that message in an oil-rich country where much of the population remains poor. (usnews.com) (twincities.com) Later that day, Leo visited Bata prison and told inmates they were “not alone,” while calling for justice that restores dignity and supports rehabilitation. Vatican News and the Associated Press said prisoners shouted for freedom during the visit. (vaticannews.va) (apnews.com) The stop in Equatorial Guinea put Leo in the orbit of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled since 1979. Reuters and OSV News said Obiang and his wife attended the Mass in Mongomo, the president’s hometown. (msn.com) (osvnews.com) That overlap drove the sharpest criticism of the trip. CNN reported that some African Catholics welcomed Leo’s first visit with joy, while others said stops in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea risked giving tacit approval to long-serving rulers; The Associated Press said exiles from Equatorial Guinea feared the visit could help launder the regime’s image. (cnn.com) (apnews.com) Supporters pointed to the pope’s own language on the trip. Reuters said Leo had already denounced despotism and inequality during the tour, and Vatican News framed the Africa journey as an early statement of his pontificate’s priorities. (msn.com) (vaticannews.va) Africa is home to about one-fifth of the world’s Catholics, CNN reported, which helps explain why Leo’s first trip to the continent drew such close attention. By the time he reached Equatorial Guinea, the tour had become both a pastoral visit for Catholics and a test of how far the Vatican can press social teaching while standing beside entrenched power. (cnn.com) (theguardian.com) Leo closed the trip with the same pairing he opened in Equatorial Guinea: Francis’s memory on one side, and demands for dignity, justice and freedom on the other. (vaticannews.va) (apnews.com)