SAURIMO, Angola — Pope Leo XIV warned during a Mass in Saurimo, Angola, Monday about God creating an idol that is sought only when beneficial — “when genuine faith is replaced by superstitious practices.”
“There are wrong motives for seeking Christ, especially when he is considered a master or a symbol of good fortune,” the Pope said April 20, referring to the reaction of the crowd reading the Gospel after Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.
“They were not looking for a teacher they loved, but a leader they could appreciate for their own benefit,” he said.
joyful faith in saurimo
From the beginning of his arrival in sub-Saharan Africa – first in Cameroon and then in Angola – Pope Leo has been warmly welcomed by the faithful. In Saurimo, a city in northeastern Angola, the atmosphere welcoming the pope on Monday was marked by joyful faith. Everyone welcomed Peter’s successor with songs, dances and applause.
Arriving on the Esplanade before Mass, despite the intense heat, Leo XIV made a circuit in the Popemobile to welcome some 60,000 faithful of all ages – who had come from all over the region and neighboring dioceses.
“This is the first time a Pope has gone beyond the coastal region of Angola and to the periphery, using the language of Pope Francis,” said the director of the communications office of the Archdiocese of Saurimo. “This is an area rich in diamonds, but there is also a lot of poverty, and he comes here to show our reality. For us, it is a great joy to have the Holy Father in our area.”
“This is a unique and unforgettable moment in my life and in the lives of the many pilgrims present here today,” Philomena Vunda, who works in the pastoral secretariat of the Archdiocese of Mlange, told ACI Africa at the Mass.
Vunda encouraged non-Catholics in Angola to “keep in mind our African word, ‘Ubuntu:’: The happiness of others depends on me; my happiness depends entirely on the happiness of others.”
Ubuntu is an African philosophy about human interconnectedness. It can be translated as “I am because we are”.
‘Disciples of Christ’
In his sermon at the Mass celebrated by the Angolan bishops, Pope Leo said, “In every part of the world, the Church lives as people who walk as disciples of Christ, our Brother and Redeemer.”
The Pope said, “He, the Risen One, illuminates for us the way to the Father and by the power of the Spirit he sanctifies us so that we may change our way of life in accordance with his love.” “This is the good news, the gospel that flows like blood in our veins, sustaining us on our journey. A journey that has brought me here with you today!”
Crowds of people brave the heat and sunshine to attend mass with Pope Leo XIV in Saurimo, Angola, on April 20, 2026. Credit: Raoul Kangombe Sapiti/ACI Africa.
Commenting on the gospel of that time, Leo reflected: “Indeed, when the Son of God became man, he performed astonishing miracles to reveal the will of the Father: He brought light into darkness by giving sight to the blind, He gave voice to the oppressed by opening the tongues of the mute, He quenched our thirst for justice by increasing bread to the poor and the weak. Whoever heard of these works set out to seek Jesus. At the same time, the Lord looks into our hearts and from us Asks whether we seek Him out of gratitude or out of self-interest, with calculation or out of love.
“The Lord himself says,” the Pope continued, “‘You are looking for me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of loaves’ (John 6:26). His words reveal the intentions of those who do not want to meet a person, but want to consume things. The crowds see Jesus as a means to an end, a provider of services. If he had given them nothing to eat, his actions and teachings They have no interest in me.”
“This happens,” Leo XIV explained, “when genuine faith is replaced by superstitious practices, in which God becomes an idol that is sought only when it is beneficial to us and only for as long as it is. Even the most beautiful gifts of God, which are always meant for the care of his people, become an excuse, a reward or an object of bargaining, and are misinterpreted by those who receive them.”
“How different is Jesus’ attitude toward us,” the Pope continued. “Yet, he does not reject this insincere pursuit, but rather encourages its transformation… Christ calls us to freedom: He does not want servants or clients, but rather brothers and sisters to whom he can devote himself completely.”
“Therefore,” said Leo XIV, “the warning which the Lord gives to the multitude is transformed into an invitation: ‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains for eternal life’ (John 6:27).”
The Pope added, “His gift sheds light on our current situation.” “We can see today how the hopes of many people are frustrated by violence, they are exploited by the powerful and deceived by the rich. As a result, when injustice corrupts hearts, the bread of all becomes the possession of a few.”
He said, “In the face of these evils, Jesus Christ hears the cry of the people and renews our history by raising us above every fall, consoling us in every suffering and encouraging us in our mission.”
“All this,” the Pope exhorted, “means that, in the light of our discipleship, the ecclesial journey is ‘the Synod of Resurrection and Hope,’ as St. John Paul II affirmed in his apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in Africa. Let us move in this wise direction! Christ himself guides and strengthens our journey, a journey that we want to learn to live more and more in the manner of the Synod.”
The Pope concluded by recalling the importance of martyrs and saints, whose testimony “encourages us and leads us to the path of hope, reconciliation and peace, with which God’s gift becomes the responsibility of the head of the household in the Christian community, in civil society.”
He said, “The liveliness of the calling that you experience (in Angola) is a sign that you are responding to God’s gift, which is always abundant for those who welcome it with a pure heart.”
ACI Africa reporter Raoul Kangombe Sapiti contributed to this report.
this was the story First published by ACI StampaItalian language affiliate service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
