Pope Leo XIV was welcomed in Angola’s capital of Luanda as he arrived in the southern African country on Saturday with a message of encouragement for its long-suffering people.
Leo’s arrival in Angola, the oil-and-mineral-rich former Portuguese colony, marked the third leg of his four-nation African voyage. En route from Cameroon, he spoke again of the ongoing back-and-forth with U.S. President Donald Trump over the Iran war.
Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, said that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate Trump, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace, justice and brotherhood in Africa.
In Angola, Leo met with President Joao Lourenco and delivered his first speech to Angolan government authorities, in which he referred repeatedly to Angola’s tortured history of colonial plunder and civil war.
“It is a feeling of great joy, because as for the visit, the Holy Father comes to renew our unity with the church and the Vicar of Christ here on earth,” Jesus Marques, a Catholic priest, said as he waited to welcome the pontiff.
Angola, which has a population of around 38 million, gained independence from Portugal in 1975. But it still bears the scars of a devastating civil war that began straight after independence and raged on and off for 27 years before finally ending in 2002.
More than a half-million people are believed to have been killed.
