Pope, at general audience, reviews apostolic journey to Africa

April 29, 2026

At his general audience today, Pope Leo XIV spoke about his recent apostolic journey to four African nations.

“Since the very beginning of my Pontificate, I have thought about a journey in Africa,” Pope Leo told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square (video). “I thank the Lord for granting me the opportunity to undertake it, as Shepherd, to meet and encourage the people of God; and also to experience it as a message of peace at a moment in history marked by conflicts and serious and frequent violations of international law.”

“Providence would have it that the first stop should be the very country where the sites of Saint Augustine are found, namely Algeria,” the Pope said. “Thus, I found myself, on the one hand, revisiting the roots of my spiritual identity and, on the other, crossing and strengthening bridges that are very important for the world and the Church today: the bridge with the very fruitful age of the Fathers of the Church; the bridge with the Islamic world; and the bridge with the African continent.”

“The visit to Cameroon allowed me to reinforce the call to work together for reconciliation and peace, for that country too is, unfortunately, marked by tensions and violence,” Pope Leo continued. Referring to the nation’s Anglophone Crisis,” he said that he was “glad to have travelled to Bamenda, in the Anglophone region, where I encouraged people to work together for peace.”

The Pope added:

The third leg of the trip was in Angola, a large country south of the equator, with a centuries-long Christian tradition, linked to Portuguese colonization. Like many African countries, after achieving independence, Angola went through a troubled period, which in its case was marked by a long and bloody civil war. In the crucible of this history, God has guided and purified the Church, increasingly converting her in the service of the Gospel, human promotion, reconciliation and peace ...

The last country I visited was Equatorial Guinea, 170 years after its first evangelization. With the wisdom of tradition and the light of Christ, the Guinean people have weathered the vicissitudes of their history and, in recent days, in the presence of the Pope, have renewed with great enthusiasm their determination to walk together towards a future of hope.

I cannot forget what happened in the prison in Bata, in Equatorial Guinea: the prisoners sang at the top of their voices a song of thanksgiving to God and to the Pope, asking him to pray “for their sins and their freedom”. I had never seen anything like it. And then they prayed the “Our Father” with me in the pouring rain. A genuine sign of the Kingdom of God!

“Dear brothers and sisters, the Pope’s visit is, for the African peoples, a chance to make their voices heard, to express the joy of being God’s people and the hope for a better future, of dignity for each and every one,” the Pontiff concluded. “I am happy to have given them this opportunity, and at the same time I thank the Lord for what they have given me, an immeasurable treasure for my heart and my ministry.”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• General Audience (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 4/29/26)
• General Audience, 29.04.2026 (Holy See Press Office, 4/29/26)