Pope Léon XIV greeted the crowd from the main balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica as he delivered the 'Urbi et Orbi' message during Easter celebrations at the Vatican on April 5, 2026. ALBERTO PIZZOLI / AFP
Rumors spread quickly after his election. For his first trip of choice – one for which he alone selected both the destination and the agenda, unbound by promises made by his predecessor – Pope Léon XIV was expected to visit Africa. The tour, it was said, would be significant in scale, involving several countries.
The pontiff, who was elected on May 8, 2025, indeed had to honor commitments made by Pope Francis, who died on April 21. He did so by traveling to Turkey in November to celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, where the foundational Christian creed was established, and then to Lebanon. But everyone in Rome knew that it was Africa where the successor of Peter truly wanted to begin his visits.
After a brief one-day stopover in Monaco in March, Léon XIV embarked on a journey as ambitious as the legendary tours of John Paul II in his era: from April 13 to 23, the pontiff plans to visit four countries and no fewer than 12 cities. Starting the trip in Algeria, he will then head to Cameroon from April 15 to 18, Angola from April 18 to 21, and finally Equatorial Guinea from April 21 to 23.
