Pope Concludes Africa Tour With Mass in Equatorial Guinea

Pope Leo XIV returned to Rome on Thursday after a 10-day tour of four African countries, during which he sharply criticized global leaders and denounced despotism and war.

The first pope from the United States concluded the nearly 18,000 km journey with a final mass at a stadium in Equatorial Guinea, where tens of thousands of faithful gathered before dawn despite heavy rain.

In his 25th homily of the tour, he said the Christian message meant that every nation is “freed from the bondage of evil” and urged the faithful to live their faith with joy.

During the visit, he also traveled to Algeria, Cameroon and Angola. In a series of speeches, he warned that the whims of the richest were threatening peace, criticized violations of international law by “neo-colonial” powers and said the world was being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.

Trump had called the pope “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” before the trip and continued to criticize him during the first week of the tour. The Holy Father responded that he would continue to speak out, adding that his remarks about tyrants were not directed at Trump.

(reuters, lud)