Pope Leo has criticised the treatment of prisoners in Equatorial Guinea, ahead of a visit to a jail known for its dire conditions.
He addressed the Central African nation on Wednesday at a Mass that drew some 100,000 people, including Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the country's leader and the world's long-serving president.
Pope Leo said: "My thoughts go to the poorest, to families experiencing difficulty and to prisoners who are often forced to live in troubling hygienic and sanitary conditions."
Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a country with a poor human rights record and vast income inequalities, is the Pope's final stop on a four-nation tour of Africa.
In the evening on Wednesday, his last full day of the tour, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit an infamous prison in the economic capital, Bata.
