Pope Leo to Visit 4 Countries in Africa

Pope Leo XIV will embark on a landmark 10-day apostolic journey to four African nations this April.

In an announcement on Wednesday, February 25, the Holy See Press Office announced that the tour, scheduled for April 13-23, will take the Holy Father to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.

Pope Leo will begin his African pilgrimage in Algeria; from April 13-15, he will visit the capital Algiers and the northeastern city of Annaba, the site of ancient Hippo and the Basilica of St. Augustine.

In Cameroon, from April 15-18, Pope Leo will visit the capital Yaoundé, the economic hub Douala, and the Anglophone city of Bamenda in the Northwest region.

The pontiff will then travel to Angola from April 18-21, visiting Luanda, the shrine of Muxima, and Saurimo. 

Home to more than 17.9 million Catholics, nearly half the population, Angola has not hosted a papal visit since Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

The final stage brings Pope Leo to Equatorial Guinea from April 21-23, where he will visit Malabo, Mongomo, and Bata. 

It will be only the second papal visit to the continent's only Spanish-speaking nation, following St. John Paul II's trip in 1982.

"This visit must be understood not merely as a historical commemoration or an extraordinary ecclesial occasion, but as a time of grace, a Kairos, in which the Lord invites His people to reread their history, renew their faith, and open themselves with hope to the future," Equatorial Guinea's bishops said in a statement.

Before Africa, Pope Leo will make a day trip to Monaco on March 28, the first papal visit to the principality in the modern era.

Following his return from Africa, he will travel to Spain from June 6-12, visiting Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. 

In Barcelona, he will inaugurate the newest and tallest tower of Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Familia.

The Canary Islands stop is expected to draw attention to migration, as the archipelago remains one of the main entry points for Africans crossing to Europe.

Elsewhere, this comes months after Pope Leo XIV erected the Catholic Diocese of Kapsabet, carving it out of the existing Diocese of Eldoret.

In a statement on Thursday, July 10, 2025, the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) said the new diocese will fall under the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu.

"The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has erected the new Catholic Diocese of Kapsabet, with territory taken from the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, making it a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kisumu (Kenya)," the statement read.

Pope Leo appointed Rt. Rev. John Kiplimo Lelei, the Auxiliary Bishop of Eldoret, as the bishop of the newly established diocese.

As such, KCCB said the appointment marks Bishop Lelei’s release from the titular See of Mount Numidia.

"At the same time, the Holy Father has appointed Rt. Rev. John Kiplimo Lelei, currently the Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Eldoret, as the First Bishop of the new Catholic Diocese of Kapsabet, simultaneously releasing him from the titular See of Mount Numidia,” the statement added.