On the third leg of his Africa tour, Leo urged Angola to move beyond the “divisions” created by its war-torn past.
Published on 19 April 2026
Pope Leo XIV addressed thousands of believers near Angola’s capital during a historic tour of Africa and urged the country to overcome “division” and “corruption”.
Speaking at an open meeting in the town of Kilamba, on the outskirts of Luanda, on Sunday, Leo addressed the country’s civil war-tainted past, saying it had brought “hostility and division, wasted resources and poverty.”
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Leo said, “Today, there is a need to look to the future with hope and build on that hope. Don’t be afraid to do so.”
The pontiff arrived in the Portuguese-speaking country on Saturday for the third leg of a four-nation tour of the continent, which began in Algeria and Cameroon and will also include a stop in Equatorial Guinea.
In a meeting with Angolan officials, including President João Lourenço, Leo spoke out against the “suffering” and social and environmental “disasters” caused by the large-scale exploitation of natural resources.
The comments in Angola, which endured a decades-long civil war that ended in 2002, continued the theme of Leo’s 11-day tour, during which he has warned against corruption and the plundering of the continent’s resources.
The first United States-born Pope has also made comments critical of the US-Israeli war and US policy in Iran, including calling US President Donald Trump’s threat to end Iran’s civilization “unacceptable”.
The pontiff’s rhetoric has put him at odds with Trump, who last week called the Catholic leader “weak” and “terrible for foreign policy.”
Leo said he is not afraid of the Trump administration and will continue to speak out against the war. But traveling from Cameroon to Angola on Saturday, Leo also said he was not interested in starting a “new debate” with the US president.
‘Waiting for the Pope’s blessings’
Many people attending the mass prayer meeting in Kilamba arrived early in the morning in anticipation.
“It’s a pleasure to have the Pope here,” said Sister Christina Matende, who arrived around 6 a.m. (05:00 GMT). “We are living in a moment of great difficulties, and we are waiting for the Pope’s blessing.”
From Kilamba, Leo must travel 110 km (70 miles) by helicopter to the town of Muxima, Angola’s most revered pilgrimage site, where a 300-year-old church overlooks a river that was once a major slave-trade route.
The church, with a statue of the Virgin Mary affectionately known as “Mama Maxima”, attracts about two million pilgrims per year and large crowds are expected to meet the Pope.
The Pope is then scheduled to travel more than 800 km (497 miles) from the capital to visit a retirement home in Sourimo, where he will celebrate another Mass before departing for Equatorial Guinea.
Catholic lawyer Domingos das Neves said the Pope’s focus on social justice was welcome in Angola, which grapples with “gross social disparities and inequalities.”
“Angola is in great need of a guiding light to illuminate our collective efforts, both within church institutions and the state, so that we do not forget the poor and the destitute,” das Neves told news agency AFP.
