The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV will undertake his first Apostolic Journey to Africa as pontiff, with a ten-day tour spanning four countries scheduled for April 13th to 23rd, 2026.
According to the Holy See, the visit will take the Pope to Algiers and Annaba in Algeria from April 13 to 15, followed by Yaoundé, Bamenda and Douala in Cameroon from April 15 to 18, then Luanda, Muxima and Saurimo in Angola from April 18 to 21, before concluding in Malabo, Mongomo and Bata in Equatorial Guinea from April 21 to 23.
The Vatican noted that the full programme for each stop will be published at a later date.
The North African nation is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, with approximately 99 percent of its residents practising the faith, while the Catholic population numbers only around 8,740.
Pope Leo as a member of the Augustinian religious order, has long expressed a desire to visit Annaba, the city known in antiquity as Hippo, where Saint Augustine served as bishop in the fourth century. The visit is also expected to advance Catholic-Muslim dialogue at a time of heightened interfaith tensions globally.
Africa is currently the fastest growing region for the Catholic Church, with approximately 20 percent of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics now living on the continent.
Reverend Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, a Nigerian Jesuit, captured the mood surrounding the announcement. He said the tour would remind the world that Africa matters and that the vibrancy of the Church in Africa remains at the heart of a thriving global Church.
