Pope Leo XIV starts a four-nation visit to Africa Monday, visiting the fastest-growing continent for the Catholic Church as he embarks on his fourth foreign trip since becoming pontiff in 2025.
While the trip does not include the continent’s most populous nation of Nigeria — where thousands of the faithful have been killed for their religious beliefs — it begins in the Muslim-majority country of Algeria.
The Vatican has called the trip "A pilgrim in Africa." The main themes Leo is expected to address include peace, migration, the environment, young people and the family, according to the Holy See. He will make 25 speeches in four of Africa’s main languages — French, English, Portuguese and Spanish.
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Analysts and clerics are keen to stress the overall importance of this visit to the continent. "I believe the Holy Father is walking with the African church in the context of the global church," Rev. Daniel Male, secretary of the Union of Augustinian Friars of Africa, told the Religion News Service. He added, "He is affirming the African churches’ growth and vibrancy and is also making a statement that the church has a preferential option for the poor and those at the margins."
The Catholic OSV News added the visit "highlights peace efforts, the works of mercy, and the Catholic Church’s vibrant presence on the continent."
The National Catholic Register stated that in 1910 Africa was home to less than 1 million Catholics. The latest figures available for 2024 estimate there are now 288 million.
Commenting on his absence from Nigeria, Frans Cronje, African-based analyst at the Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, told Fox News Digital, "Given Nigeria's role as the epicenter of the terror threat faced by Africa's Christians, it will be disappointing to many of them to learn that the pope has left that country off his Africa agenda. The country has become ground zero for the global Islamist terror threat."
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The pontiff must be invited to a country by the host government. Analysts say the government of Nigeria may feel a papal visit may be too sensitive at this time. But the Nigerian government did not respond to requests for comment on this issue by Fox News Digital.
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Details of the trip include:
The Vatican’s yearbook for 2025, the Annuario Pontificio, states Catholics number 8,740 out of a population of 46–48 million. The pope is believed to be coming to Algeria to visit the ancient city of Hippo, now called Annaba. The city was home to St. Augustine, the "doctor of the church." Pope Leo is the first pontiff to belong to the Augustinian Order.
He is also expected to emphasize interfaith dialogue with Islam when he visits the Great Mosque of Algiers. This is one of the biggest in the world, capable of accommodating up to 120,000 people.
The 2026 Open Doors World Watch List placed Algeria in the 20th position for Christian persecution. It said 47 churches of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) have been closed by the authorities.
The Associated Press reported that Algerian authorities rejected a Vatican request for Leo to visit Médéa to pray at the Tibhirine monastery, the place where seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and killed May 21, 1996, by Islamic extremists during the country’s civil war.
The Catholic EWTN organization reports that Catholics make up between 30% and 35% of the population of some 30 million.
The pope will preside over five public Masses and addresses in three cities. He will also meet with vulnerable children at the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in the capital city of Yaoundé.
In the latest government census, some 56% of Angola’s population identified as being Catholic.
The most significant part of the pope’s visit to Angola is expected to be when he goes to the town of Muxima, where he will pray at a shrine to the Virgin Mary, known locally as "Mama Muxima," or "mother of the heart." This is said to be the spiritual home for many Angolans, drawing over 2 million pilgrims every year.
The Vatican has stated that approximately 80% of the population of Equatorial Guinea are Catholic. Leo will hold several Masses and addresses, and will visit a new psychiatric hospital and a prison. The Jean Pierre Olie Psychiatric Hospital in Sampaka, Malabo, was only inaugurated in December and is the country’s first modern specialized mental health facility. It collaborates with France’s Hospital Saint-Anne in Paris.
In a potentially controversial move, the pope will also visit a prison in Bata notorious for reports of inmate torture and abuse.
The Vatican did not respond to Fox News Digital questions by press time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
