Pope Leo on Sunday recalled the “sorrow and great suffering” Angolans endured for centuries, as the American pope prayed at a Catholic shrine located at the site of an important hub of the African slave trade during Portugal’s colonial rule. Leo travelled to the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima, nestled in the Angolan savannahs of baobab trees at the edge of the Kwanza River. It became a major pilgrimage destination after believers reported an appearance by the Virgin Mary around 1833. But the Church of...
On the third leg of his Africa tour, Leo urges Angola to move beyond "divisions" created by its war-scarred past.
Leo XIV wants the world's attention on a continent vital to the Church's future, an aide says.