Pope Leo XIV will travel to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea from April 13 to 23, marking his first official visit to Africa since his pontification in May last year, according to Vatican reports.
The Holy See Press Office said the Apostolic Journey will span 11 days and 11 cities, and include six greetings, 10 addresses, and eight homilies.
Algeria
The visit will begin in Algiers from April 13 to 15, where the Pope will visit the Maqam Echahid Martyrs’ Monument to commemorate the Algerian War of Independence.
He is scheduled to meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Presidential Palace and later address authorities, civil society representatives, and diplomats at the Djamaa el Djazair Conference Centre within the Great Mosque of Algiers complex.
He will also visit the Great Mosque of Algiers, in a country with a predominantly Muslim population, and make a private stop at the Welcome and Friendship Centre run by the Augustinian Missionary Sisters in Bab El Oued.
The Algeria leg will conclude with an address to the Catholic community at the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa.
On April 14, the Pope will travel to Annaba, near the ancient city of Hippo Regius, where St Augustine served as bishop. He will visit the archaeological site, a nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of St Augustine before returning to Algiers.
Cameroon
Pope Leo XIV will be in Cameroon from April 15 to 19, starting in the capital, Yaoundé, with a visit to an orphanage and a meeting with bishops.
He will then travel to the conflict-affected region of Bamenda to officiate a peace meeting, pray at St Joseph’s Cathedral, and celebrate Mass at Bamenda International Airport.
In Douala, he will lead a stadium Mass and visit St Paul Catholic Hospital before returning to Yaoundé for an engagement with students and professors at the Catholic University of Central Africa. He will also celebrate a morning Mass at Yaoundé Airport.
Angola
The Pope will arrive in Luanda, Angola, on April 18, where he will visit the Our Lady of Muxima Shrine to preside over a public rosary.
He will travel to Saurimo to celebrate an outdoor Mass and visit a nursing home, and will also meet members of the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Luanda.
Equatorial Guinea
In Equatorial Guinea, the Pope will visit a psychiatric hospital in Malabo, a prison in Bata, and pray at a memorial to victims of a 2021 military base explosion that killed more than 100 people.
He will also visit the Pope Francis Technology School and celebrate Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo. The trip will conclude with a stadium Mass in Malabo on April 23 before he departs for Rome.
While Kenya is not included in the tour, Pope Leo XIV visited the country in December 2024 when he was Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost.
Previous papal visits to Kenya include those by Pope John Paul II in 1980, 1985, and 1995, and Pope Francis in 2015, largely focused on advocating for the poor and promoting interfaith dialogue.