Luanda, ANGOLA — Pope Leo XIV led a massive open-air Sunday Mass in Kilamba on April 19, 2026, as part of his ongoing apostolic tour of Africa.
Multitudes gathered on the outskirts of the capital to hear the Pontiff, who arrived in the Portuguese-speaking nation on Saturday.
Okay News reports that Pope Leo XIV used the occasion to speak out against the “rampant exploitation” of natural resources and the deep inequality affecting the resource-rich country. During a meeting with President Joao Lourenco, the Pope delivered a message of hope while criticizing corruption and the plunder of Africa’s wealth.
Despite being a top producer of crude oil and diamonds, Angola remains scarred by a civil war that ended in 2002, with approximately one-third of its 36.6 million people living in poverty. Attendees at the Mass expressed a desire for a redistribution of wealth and greater opportunities for young people, many of whom seek to leave the country for the West due to a lack of employment.
Following the service in Kilamba, the Pope is scheduled to travel by helicopter to Muxima, a 300-year-old pilgrimage site located along a former slave trading route. The site, home to the “Mama Muxima” statue of the Virgin Mary, typically draws two million pilgrims annually.
Addressing journalists during his flight, Pope Leo XIV expressed regret that his diplomatic dispute with United States President Donald Trump had overshadowed the tour. The Pope stated it was “not in my interest at all” to engage in a public debate with the U.S. leader, who recently called the Pontiff “weak” following his appeals for peace in the Middle East.
The Angolan visit serves as the third leg of an 18,000-kilometre journey that began in Algeria and Cameroon, and is set to conclude in Equatorial Guinea later this week.
