Overview
- Pope Leo XIV led a giant open‑air Mass in Kilamba near Luanda on Sunday, urging Angolans to overcome civil war divisions and the “wound of corruption” through a culture of justice and shared goods.
- Authorities counted about 100,000 people at the liturgy, while the Vatican had said up to roughly 200,000 might gather, underscoring the strong turnout for the visit.
- After meeting President João Lourenço on Saturday, the pope condemned the exploitation of Angola’s oil and diamond wealth and pressed leaders to welcome dissent in a nation where a third of 36.6 million people live in poverty.
- In the afternoon he prayed the Rosary at the Mama Muxima shrine, a major pilgrimage site built in the late 1500s that once served the slave trade, drawing tens of thousands who sought prayer and consolation.
- Following Sunday’s Mass, he appealed for dialogue to stop attacks on Ukraine and to advance efforts in Lebanon and the wider region, and he continues his peace‑focused tour next in Equatorial Guinea.