the main phrases to remember

The first stage in Algeria (April 13-15) had already been particularly scrutinized. The rest of this trip to Africa, with the ambient geopolitical chaos as a backdrop, was just as much. The Sovereign Pontiff assumed with peaceful authority the freedom of speech of the Church, in its desire to be faithful to the “message of the Gospel”.

On April 15, 2026 in Yaoundé (Cameroon), in the presence of Paul Biya who has led the country since 1982, Léon XIV gave a first scathing speech on African governance. Calling on the authorities for a moral upsurge, he declared: “We must break the chains of corruption which disfigure authority by emptying it of its credibility” and “free the heart from this thirst for gain which is idolatry”.

The next day, at Saint-Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda (north-west), a region marked by armed conflict, the Pope continued to denounce authoritarian excesses: “The world is ravaged by a handful of tyrants, but it is united by a multitude of brothers and sisters who support it”. But again: “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain.” A position which aroused an international echo, some observers seeing it as an attack against Donald Trump, who had a few days earlier had very harsh words towards Leo XIV on his social network. This was refuted by the Bishop of Rome, specifying that he was not targeting any particular leader and that his speech had been written well before this skirmish.

AI, a major subject for the Pope

On April 17, at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, in front of an audience of students, the Pope spoke on a popular subject which should constitute a major chapter of his first encyclical to come: AI. “The challenge posed by these systems is deeper than it seems: it does not only concern the use of new technologies, but the gradual replacement of reality by its simulation (…) This is how polarization, conflicts, fears and violence spread. It is not a simple risk of error that is at stake, but a transformation of the very relationship to the truth. »

Leo XIV also denounced the “environmental and social devastation” linked to AI, while Africa bears the cost of cobalt extraction, among others…

“We were not born to become slaves”

In the Angolan capital, Luanda, the Holy Father denounced the “logic of exploitation” of natural resources (oil, minerals), very present in this region of southern Africa: “How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are being caused! »

On April 20, Leo XIV was in Saurimo, in the northeast of the country. There is once again mention – still in Portuguese – of “tyrants” and “corruption”. During a giant open-air mass which brought together 60,000 faithful, he assured: “We were not born to become slaves of the corruption of the flesh, nor of that of the soul: every form of oppression, violence, exploitation and lies denies the resurrection of Christ”; “people’s desires are frustrated by the violent, exploited by tyrants, and deceived by wealth.”

The marked tribute to his predecessor

On April 21, for the anniversary of the death of his predecessor Francis, Leo XIV spoke on the plane that took him to Guinea, as transcribed Paris Matchpresent on board: “I would like to pay tribute to Pope Francis who gave so much to the Church through his life, his testimony, his words, as well as through his actions, by living closeness with the poorest, the smallest, the sick, the children, the elderly. He left so much to the Church. »

At Santa Maria Maggiore (Rome), the dean of the College of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re celebrated a mass in memory of the Argentine bishop. Leo XIV had entrusted him with a message which he read: “Death is not a wall, but a door wide open to this Mercy that Pope Francis tirelessly proclaimed. »

“You are now your own missionaries”

Last stop on this papal trip: Equatorial Guinea, where nearly 75% of the inhabitants are Catholic. From his speech in Malabo, we will especially remember that the Holy Father denounced an “economy of exclusion” in this country with strong disparities where an elite monopolizes the wealth, leaving a majority of the population below the poverty line. New technologies? “They appear to be designed and used for warlike purposes…and do not suggest any improvement in prospects for all. »

On Wednesday, following a visit to a prison in Bata, Leo May “spaces of freedom increase, may the dignity of the human person always be preserved”, he added to Mongomo before using the words of Paul VI to urge Christians to act for the future of their country: “Africans, you are now your own missionaries”.