Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV will make a 10-day trip through Africa visiting four countries in a trip seen as significant to Catholics in the continent.
The itinerary includes Algeria in north Africa, then Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, in western Africa from April 13 to 23.
According to the Vatican's most recent statistics published in October, the number of Catholics increased by more than 15 million worldwide from mid-2022 to mid-2023, with more than half of them in Africa. And although African cardinals are underrepresented in senior leadership, Africa produces more trainee priests than any other continent, The New York Times reported. About one-fifth of Africa's population are Catholic.
Pope Paul VI visited Uganda in 1969, then John Paul II traveled to Africa 13 times. Benedict XVI visited the continent twice, and Francis traveled there four times.
Leo has visited Africa many times before he was pope because he was the leader of the Order of St. Augustine. The order follows the teachings of Augustine of Hippo, who was born in what's now Algeria in the year 354.
