Papal visit offers ‘crack of light’ for peace in Africa

Cameroon is the second country on Pope Leo’s itinerary for 13-23 April, when his will also visit Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola during a 10-day apostolic journey.

Pope Leo’s visit to Africa in April could be “a God-guided crack of light”, a Muslim scholar and peace activist in Cameroon said.

Writing from a prison cell where he is serving a life sentence in the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison, Abdul Karim Ali addressed an open letter to the president of Cameroon’s bishops’ conference Archbishop Andrew Nkea of Bamenda, urging him not to let the opportunity pass by.

“The news that Pope Leo XIV will make Cameroon his third or fourth international destination this April is not protocol – it is a God-guided crack of light,” he wrote.

He said the Pope could help bring an end to the separatist crisis in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where at least 6,500 people have been killed in ten years of fighting.

A military court sentenced Abdul Karim Ali to life imprisonment on charges of “hostility against the homeland” and “secession” in June 2025, prompting widespread condemnation from human rights groups.

Cameroon is the second country on Pope Leo’s itinerary for 13-23 April, when his will also visit Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Angola. Clergy and laity, as well as non-Catholics, welcomed the opportunity to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in response to the continent’s conflicts.

In Cameroonian bishops said the planned visit “represents a moment of great spiritual significance for the Church and the entire Cameroonian nation”.

“He comes as a shepherd to encounter the people of God, to strengthen their faith, encourage their hope, and promote initiatives for peace, reconciliation and solidarity,” said the bishops’ conference statement signed by Archbishop Nkea.

“I believe that the visit of the Holy Father will certainly add to the effort of everybody to bring about a dialogue and a reconciliation and greater unity,” added the apostolic nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, Archbishop Jose Avelino Bettencourt.

The Pope’s visit to Equatorial Guinea will come 44 years after John Paul II visited. It will also coincide with celebrations marking 170 years of evangelisation in the country.

Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé of Malabo said Pope Leo will be welcomed with the slogan “Christ, Light of Equatorial Guinea. Towards a Future of Hope”, while the bishops’ conference issued a statement, describing the visit as “a kairos”.

“This visit must be understood not merely as an 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,” it said.

In Angola, which has suffered decades of civil war, Church leaders said the Pope’s message of reconciliation will be critical to returning peace to the people’s hearts and minds.

The bishops in Muslim-majority Algeria said they expected Pope Leo to promote interreligious dialogue, while also emphasising his debt to St Augustine of Hippo who was born there.

“He is coming to encourage our Church in its mission of fraternal presence among predominantly Muslim people,” the bishops said.  “He is coming to tell us how fortunate we are to have a great brother who was born in this land, Saint Augustine, whose figure can accompany us on our common journey.”

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