Vatican City (Vatican), 9 April (LaPresse) – The Holy See Press Office Director, Matteo Bruni, outlined Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Africa, which will take place from 13 to 23 April, during a briefing. Eleven days, four countries, over 20 speeches and greetings. The first stop is Algeria, marking a historic first: no Pope has ever visited the country before. Prevost has previously visited Algeria twice, in his capacity as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine: between 20 and 26 September 2004 and between 15 and 18 April 2009. The Pope will be in Algeria between 13 and 15 April. The second leg of the journey will take him to Cameroon, following in the footsteps of St John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Here, in Bamenda, the Pope will hold, amongst other scheduled events, a meeting for peace, and during the Mass he will preside over on Friday 17 April in the car park adjacent to the Japoma Stadium, he will be greeted by a huge crowd, as, according to Bruni, “600,000 faithful” are expected. Leo XIV will leave Cameroon the following day to travel to Angola, where he will visit the cities of Muxima and Saurimo, as well as the capital Luanda, from 18 to 21 April. The final leg of the Pope’s third apostolic journey will be Equatorial Guinea, coinciding with the 170th anniversary of the country’s evangelisation. This is the second visit by a pope, following that of St John Paul II, who on 18 February 1982 (during his tenth apostolic journey) presided over Mass in Bata, delivering a message of faith, peace and fidelity to Christ and the Church.
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