“Africa is a reservoir of joy and hope”: Pope Leo XIV Urges Leaders to Make Angola “a project of hope”

By ACI Africa Staff

Luanda, 18 April, 2026 / 11:50 pm (ACI Africa).

Pope Leo XIV has urged the people of God in Africa to channel the continent’s resilience and youthful aspirations into building a society rooted in justice, dialogue, and solidarity, declaring that “Africa is a reservoir of joy and hope.”

Speaking in Angola during his meeting with the authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the start of the third leg of his four-nation Apostolic Journey to Africa, the Holy Father started by expressing his solidarity with victims of recent floods in the country’s western region.

“Before continuing, I would like to offer the assurance of my prayers for the victims of the heavy rains and floods that have struck the province of Benguela Province, and to express my closeness to the families who have lost their homes,” he said.

The Pope added, “I also know that you, the people of Angola, are united in a great chain of solidarity with those affected.”

“Treasures that cannot be bought”

Addressing President João Lourenço of Angola, diplomats, and representatives of Angolan society, Pope Leo XIV framed his pastoral visit to the Southern African nation as a pilgrimage seeking “the signs of God’s presence in this land so beloved by him.”

He lauded the resilience of the people of God in Angola, emphasizing that the country’s deepest resources are not material.

“I desire to meet you in the spirit born of peace and to affirm that your people possess treasures that cannot be bought or taken away,” the Holy Father said.

He pointed specifically to a resilient spirit among the Angolans, noting that joy persists despite hardship.

“In particular, there dwells within you a joy that not even the most adverse circumstances have been able to extinguish,” Pope Leo XIV said, describing a joy that “endures and is continually reborn among those who have kept their hearts and minds free from the seductions of wealth.”

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Africa’s political virtues: joy and hope

The Holy Father broadened his reflection beyond Angola to the wider African continent, presenting the region as a source of global renewal.

“For the entire world, Africa is a reservoir of joy and hope,” the American-born member of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA), who served as Prior General of the worldwide family in the Catholic Church inspired by the life and spirituality of St. Augustine of Hippo from 2001 to 2013 said

He called the two virtues of joy and hope “political” because they energize societies and shape collective futures.

Pope Leo XIV noted that young people in Africa and the poor continue to dream of transformation. “They are not content with what already exists; they strive to rise above, to prepare themselves for great responsibilities, and to take an active part in shaping their own future,” he said.

According to the Pope, this aspiration is rooted in a deeper human longing that no ideology can suppress.

“The wisdom of a people cannot be stifled by any ideology,” he said, adding that the human heart’s “longing for the infinite… is a principle of social transformation far deeper than any political or cultural program.”

Warning against exploitative development

In his address upon landing in Angola after concluding his four-day pastoral visit to Cameroon, Pope Leo XIV also addressed Angola’s vast natural wealth, cautioning against economic systems that exploit resources without benefiting the natives. 

“How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and environmental disasters are brought about by this logic of extractivism!” he said, criticizing development models that “discriminate and exclude.”

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Quoting Pope Paul VI, the Holy Father warned that societies must resist the illusion of a civilization driven purely by consumption and material gain.

“You are witnesses — thanks to the ancient wisdom that shapes your thoughts and sensibilities — that creation is harmony in the richness of diversity,” he told Angola’s authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps.

Yet he acknowledged that such harmony has often been disrupted by exploitation and ideological imposition. “Your people have suffered time and again when this harmony was violated by the arrogance of a few,” Pope Leo XIV said.

Dialogue as the path beyond conflict

He urged Angolans to prioritize dialogue in navigating disagreements and political tensions. “Only in encounter does life flourish. Dialogue is the first step,” Pope Leo XIV said, emphasizing that conflict must not destroy social cohesion.

Quoting his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, the Holy Father noted that conflict can either divide societies or become an opportunity for renewal if addressed constructively.

“‘Blessed are the peacemakers!’” he said, citing Mathew 5:9 referenced in the late Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the proclamation of the gospel in today’s world, Evangelii Gaudium 227.

The Holy Father encouraged political leaders to welcome debate and resist suppressing dissent. “Do not be afraid of disagreement; do not suppress the ideas of the young or the dreams of the elderly,” he said, and added, “Know how to manage conflicts by transforming them into paths of renewal.”

A “project of hope” for Angola

Pope Leo XIV concluded by urging the people of God in Angola to harness the country’s diverse human and cultural resources for the common good.

“Together, you can make Angola a project of hope,” the Holy Father said.

He reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s commitment to supporting the country’s development by promoting justice and solidarity, particularly among those marginalized in urban peripheries and remote rural regions.

“The Catholic Church… desires to be leaven in the dough and to foster the growth of a just model of coexistence,” he said.

Such progress, Pope Leo XIV went on to say, requires removing obstacles to human development and working with those whom society often overlooks.

“Let us remove the obstacles to integral human development, working and hoping together alongside those whom the world has discarded but whom God has chosen,” he said.

Ending his address, the Holy Father entrusted Angola’s future to divine guidance, saying, “May God bless Angola.”

On Sunday, April 19, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to preside over Holy Mass in the Kilamba district of Luanda before traveling by helicopter to the Marian shrine of Mama Muxima, where he is to lead the recitation of the Holy Rosary with pilgrims gathered at one of Angola’s most significant places of Catholic devotion.

On Monday, April 20, the Holy Father is to visit Saurimo in Angola’s Eastern region. His program there includes a visit to a nursing home and the celebration of Holy Mass in the Saurimo esplanade. 

Later that day in Luanda, the Holy Father is scheduled to meet Catholic Bishops, Priests, women and men Religious, and pastoral workers at the Our Lady of Fatima Parish.

The final leg of the Apostolic Journey is to take the Holy Father to Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday, April 21, where he will conclude the four-nation trip on Thursday, April 23, having visited Malabo, Mongomo, and Bata.

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