Courtney Mares

Flying over the west coast of central Africa on April 21, Pope Leo XIV paused to honor his predecessor on the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, remembering the Argentine pope’s witness to mercy and closeness to the poor.

Pope Leo XIV traveled to the heart of Angola’s diamond country April 20, urging the tens of thousands gathered at the papal Mass in the country’s northeast to trust that “Christ hears the cry of the people” in the face of evil.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an outdoor Mass for an estimated 100,000 Catholics in Angola on Sunday, April 19, urging the faithful of a nation still bearing the scars of a decades-long civil war to find renewed hope in the Eucharist and the Risen Christ.

Pope Leo XIV touched down in the Angolan capital of Luanda on Saturday, April 18, beginning a three-day visit to the southern African country that is home to 20 million Catholics.

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 arrived in Cameroon on April 15, delivering a forceful appeal for peace to a nation scarred by years of separatist violence, telling the country’s leaders that “there is such a hunger and thirst for justice” as thousands lined the streets of the capital to welcome him.