Pope Leo Concludes Africa Visit With Mass in Equatorial Guinea
Last update: April 23, 2026
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Pontiff wraps up first international trip amid political tensions and calls for justice.
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday held an open air Mass in Equatorial Guinea before tens of thousands of followers, bringing to a close his first major international tour, which had drawn sharp criticism from Donald Trump over his stance on Iran.
The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics had been in the tightly controlled Central African nation since Tuesday.
During his visit, he criticised restrictions on civic freedoms and urged better treatment of prisoners in a country widely known for harsh detention conditions.
On his final day in the oil rich former Spanish colony of around two million people, where much of the population lives in poverty, he led a Mass attended by about 30,000 people at a stadium in Malabo.
He was expected to return to Rome at around 8:00 pm. During the flight, he was scheduled to speak with journalists travelling alongside him, with his comments highly anticipated following the remarks from U.S president, Donald Trump.
Trump had described the US born pontiff as very weak on crime and said he was wrong to call for an end to violence in the Iran conflict. His comments cast a shadow over the early days of the pope’s four country, 11 day Africa tour.
The pope later expressed regret that his remarks were being interpreted as a direct response to Trump’s criticism and said he had no interest in engaging in a debate with the former US leader.
