Pope Leo XIV urges Angola to overcome divisions, condemns resource exploitation

The pontiff addressed an estimated 100,000 people at a Mass near Luanda during the third leg of his four-nation African tour.

Pope Leo XIV urged Angolans on Sunday to heal divisions stemming from the country's 27-year civil war, addressing an estimated 100,000 to 130,000 people at an open-air Mass in Kilamba, a housing complex outside the capital Luanda²³⁴. The event marked one of the largest gatherings during his four-nation African tour²¹⁰.

The pope called Angola a "beautiful yet wounded country" and urged attendees to "build together a country where old divisions are overcome once and for all, where hatred and violence disappear"²³⁴. Angola experienced a civil conflict from 1975 to 2002²³⁴. At the end of the Mass, Leo decried the recent escalation in the Ukraine war, calling "for the weapons to fall silent and for the path of dialogue to be followed," and praised the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as a "reason for hope"²³⁴.

Believers began arriving before dawn in hot and humid conditions, with some spending the night nearby to secure places²⁶. Sister Christina Matende, who arrived around 6am, said "The pope coming here is a joy. We are living in a moment of a lot of difficulties"²⁸.

On Saturday, Leo addressed Angolan political leaders including President João Lourenço, condemning the exploitation of natural resources in Africa⁷⁹. He blasted "despots and tyrants" who guarantee wealth but fail to deliver, leading to suffering and deaths⁸⁹. "How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are brought about by this logic of extractivism!" the pope said⁹. He urged Angolans to work for a society free from "the slavery imposed by the elite who are laden with much wealth but false joys"⁹.

Angola is one of sub-Saharan Africa's leading oil producers, but more than 30 percent of its 36.6 million people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank⁸. More than half the country identifies as Catholic⁸.

In the afternoon, Leo travelled by helicopter to the Catholic shrine in Muxima, about 130 kilometres southeast of Luanda, where he led prayers⁴. The 16th-century site was built as part of a Portuguese fortress central to the transatlantic slave trade that historians estimate captured some six million people from present-day Angola⁴. Leo did not refer to the site's history in his remarks but called on Angolans to build a peaceful, more just world⁴.

Vice President Esperança da Costa and First Lady Ana Dias Lourenço attended the Kilamba ceremony but made no public statements⁷.