Angola Africa Pope

Soldiers march carrying the Vatican flag, right, and Angolan flag prior to Pope Leo XIV's departure for Equatorial Guinea, at the airport in Luanda, Angola, Tuesday, April 21, 2026.

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Pope blasts colonization of minerals in Equatorial Guinea, headed by Africa's longest-serving leader

Pope blasts colonization of minerals in Equatorial Guinea, headed by Africa's longest-serving leader

Pope Leo XIV has denounced the “colonization” of minerals and the “lust for power” in Equatorial Guinea. He arrived on Tuesday at the end of his four-nation African trip. It's a country whose repressive leader has been in office since 1979. Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the road from the airport into Malabo, cheering the first pope to visit since St. John Paul II came in 1982. The former Spanish colony on Africa’s western coast is run by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. He has been accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.