Angola is preparing to welcome Pope Leo XIV on Saturday, April 18, as the pontiff begins the next leg of his African tour with a message expected to centre on peace, corruption, inequality and social renewal in one of Africa’s most resource-rich but deeply unequal nations. The Vatican says Leo is visiting Angola from April 18 to 21 as part of an 11-day trip that also includes Algeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
Church leaders in Angola say the visit has generated excitement among the faithful and is being seen as both a spiritual and national moment. Father Correia Hilario, an Angolan priest, said the country was ready to receive the pope and hoped the visit would reflect the joy of Angola’s 24 years of peace since the end of its civil war in 2002, as well as 51 years of independence. His comments were reported as preparations in Luanda intensified ahead of the pontiff’s arrival.
“It is important for us that the pope feels comfortable, warmly welcomed by the whole world, by our Angola,” Hilario said, adding that parish communities should not be absent from what he described as the third papal visit to the country. Reuters notes that Pope Benedict XVI was the last pontiff to visit Angola, in 2009.
According to the Vatican’s programme, Leo will arrive in Luanda on April 18, meet members of the diplomatic corps, and then travel to Muxima to visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception, one of Angola’s most important Catholic pilgrimage sites. He is also scheduled to travel to Saurimo in the east, where he will visit a retirement home before continuing on to Equatorial Guinea.
The Angola leg of the trip is expected to go beyond ceremonial appearances. Vatican officials and other reports say the pope will use the visit to address poverty, corruption, youth challenges and the stark inequality that persists despite Angola’s oil and mineral wealth. He is also expected to speak about healing the wounds of war and the responsibilities of political leadership.
Africa has become increasingly important to the Catholic Church, and Leo’s first major African tour is being watched as an indication of his priorities as pope. For Angolan Catholics, the visit offers not only religious significance, but also hope that the pontiff’s message will resonate beyond the Church and into public life.
