Pope Leo XIV concluded his first trip to Africa April 23, capping a four-country visit marked by urgent calls for peace, direct engagement with conflict zones, and a backdrop of international political tension.
Cameroon
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for more than 120,000 people in Cameroon’s largest city on April 17, urging “beloved children of the African continent” to share God’s love by feeding the hungry and offering the spiritual nourishment of “the bread of life.”
A religious sister in Cameroon who was kidnapped just a few months ago by separatists and held hostage for three days in the bush was among those who shared her testimony with Pope Leo XIV April 16 in an emotional peace meeting in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, a region marred by years of separatist violence.
Pope Leo XIV spoke to journalists aboard the papal plane on April 15 on the five-hour flight from Algeria to Cameroon, underlining St. Augustine’s enduring importance today, saying that the saint’s invitation “to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today.”
Separatist factions operating in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions announced a temporary cessation of hostilities ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s stop in Cameroon on the second leg of his papal visit to the African continent.