When MISSION Magazine first began publication in 1951, Africa was often described as a vast and still-forming mission territory—a continent where the Church was present, but in many places only just taking root. Missionaries wrote of enormous distances, limited infrastructure, and communities that might see a priest only a few times a year.
In parts of Central Africa, entire regions with millions of people were served by only a handful of bishops and missionaries. The work of evangelization depended largely on foreign clergy and religious, who established the first schools, clinics, and parishes, often under difficult and uncertain conditions. The Church, while growing, remained fragile—its structures still developing, its future uncertain.
And yet, even then, there were signs of what was to come. The faith was taking hold in local communities, vocations were beginning to emerge, and the foundations were being laid for a Church that would one day stand not as a mission field, but as a missionary force in its own right.
At the conclusion of his first apostolic journey to Africa, Pope Leo XIV offered what may be the clearest key to understanding the trip—not as a diplomatic tour or a series of policy interventions, but as something far more essential to the life of the Church.
“When I travel, I speak for myself, but today as Pope, Bishop of Rome, it is above all a pastoral Apostolic Journey to meet, accompany, and get to know the People of God,” he said on the April 23 flight back to Rome.
He continued: “But that is not the first word: the journey should be understood above all as an expression of the desire to proclaim the Gospel, to announce the message of Jesus Christ, which is a way of drawing close to the people in their happiness, in the depth of their faith, but also in their suffering.”
That insistence—that the journey was intrinsically missionary—offers a lens through which the entire visit comes into focus.
Across Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, the pope did not introduce a new agenda so much as recognize one already being lived: a Church present in small communities, in conflict zones, in places of poverty and quiet faith, carried forward by missionaries who embody the Gospel in daily life.
A Long-awaited Journey to the Land of Saint Augustine
In many ways, the trip fulfilled a long-standing desire.
Days after his election in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV had already signaled his intention to travel to Africa—beginning with Algeria, the land of Augustine of Hippo, whose thought and spirituality have shaped his Augustinian vocation.
It is also a continent he knows firsthand. Even as Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, he returned repeatedly to Africa, including missionary visits to Nigeria, forming close ties with communities living the Gospel in challenging contexts.
That personal history helps explain the simplicity with which he framed the journey early on: “I primarily come to Africa as a pastor, as the head of the Catholic Church, to be with, to celebrate with, to encourage and accompany all of the Catholics throughout Africa.”
Algeria: A Small Church, a Universal Witness
In Algeria, where Christians are a tiny minority, the Church’s presence is quiet but deeply rooted in relationships.
Spanish missionary Mercè Gassiot, who has lived there since 1969, describes a Church that exists not through numbers, but through encounter.
“Our Church is poor, very small, but full of diversity,” she said. “Fraternity is built day by day, by living together, working together, sharing both the difficulties and the joys of daily life.”
That lived reality echoed Pope Leo’s words at the Great Mosque of Algiers: “To seek God is also to recognize the image of God in every creature, in the children of God, in every man and woman created in God’s image and likeness.”
Leaving the country, the pope returned again to St. Augustine—not as a historical figure, but as a guide for the present: “And yet he is still a very important figure today as his writings, teachings, spirituality, invitation to search for God and for the truth is something that is very much needed today; a message that is very real for all of us today, as believers in Jesus Christ, but also for all people.”
In Annaba, that vision took flesh.
Sister Carmen María de Justín, of the Little Sisters of the Poor, welcomed the pope into her home for the elderly, where nearly all the residents are Muslim.
“It was wonderful—he was moved when he saw them,” she said. “It has been a great reward for our work… it has given us strength to continue.”
The visit became a shared moment of faith beyond boundaries.
“The house was full—full of Muslims,” she said. “They helped prepare everything.”
The home even includes a small mosque for residents, “so they can pray just as we do in our chapel,” she explained.
In that simple coexistence, the Church’s mission in Algeria becomes visible: not through words alone, but through presence.
Cameroon: Hope in the Midst of Conflict
In Cameroon, the pope’s visit entered a region marked by violence and uncertainty.
Since 2016, the country’s English-speaking regions have been affected by a prolonged socio-political crisis. In Bamenda, one of its epicenters, daily life continues under tension.
Sister María José de la Plata described the situation with striking simplicity: “We have gotten used to ‘ghost town’ Mondays—no market, no school, no transport.”
Yet even in that reality, the mission continues.
“Every day that we open the school or the center, despite the risks, we offer hope and the presence of God in this corner of the world.”
For her, the pope’s decision to come was itself a message.
“It is a sign of closeness—he is with the people. He is willing to take the risk to tell a people who have suffered for years that they are not forgotten.”
Pope Leo acknowledged that suffering directly, describing the region as a “bloodstained yet fertile land.”
And he offered a vision rooted not in strategy, but in relationship: “Peace is not something we must invent: it is something we must embrace by accepting our neighbor as our brother and as our sister.”
Angola: Healing Memory, Building Justice
In Angola, the Church’s mission unfolds in the shadow of a long civil war that ended in 2002 but left deep scars.
Sister María José Valero, a Daughter of Charity, described a mission that spans education, healthcare, prison ministry, and pastoral outreach.
“Our mission here includes education, health care and accompanying people in all aspects of life,” she said.
The pope’s message to the nation reflected those realities.
“It is necessary to break this cycle of interests, which reduces reality, and even life itself, to mere commodities.”
At the Marian shrine of Mama Muxima, he connected prayer to action: “Praying the Rosary commits us to loving every person with a mother’s heart—concretely and generously—and to dedicating ourselves to the good of one another, especially the poorest.”
Equatorial Guinea: The Gospel at the Margins—and at the Heart of a People
In Equatorial Guinea, the visit revealed both enthusiasm and distance.
In remote communities, many could not follow the events. Instead, “it was lived from a distance,” said Sister Concepción González. “Many people here weren’t even able to see it.” The country’s limited infrastructure meant that it was difficult even to follow the Pope through streaming.
Yet the need for hope remains urgent.
The pope brought that message directly to one of the most forgotten places: a prison in Bata.
“No one is excluded from God’s love!” Leo XIV told the prisoners, who welcomed him with dancing and singing despite the pouring rain. “Each of us, with our unique stories, mistakes and sufferings, remains precious in the Lord’s eyes. We can say this with certainty, because Jesus revealed it to us in every encounter, every gesture, and every word.”
He continued: “There is always the possibility to start over, learn and become a new person.”
In those words, the heart of the missionary message becomes clear: the Gospel reaches even where hope seems most fragile.
And yet, in Equatorial Guinea, the story of the Church is not only one of need—but of growth and rootedness.
The first Catholic missionaries arrived in the mid-19th century, laying the foundations of a Church that today reaches the majority of the population. Despite difficult beginnings—language barriers, disease, and the complexities of colonial history—their work established not only parishes, but schools, health centers, and a lasting ecclesial presence.
That legacy is now carried forward by local clergy, many of whom were themselves formed thanks to the support of the universal Church.
Father Apolinar Mbo Olinga, Vicar General of the Diocese of Ebibeyín, is one of them.
“All my formation was financed by The Pontifical Mission Societies,” he said. “I can say that I am a fruit of this support.”
His vocation, however, was not without obstacles. Following the closure of seminaries during the dictatorship of Francisco Macías Nguema in the 1970s, seminarians were forced into exile. Father Apolinar continued his formation first in Cameroon and later in Europe before returning to serve his country as a priest.
Today, the Church in Equatorial Guinea reflects both that history and its growth. With five dioceses and a strong presence in education and social services, it remains a vital force in the life of the country.
And yet, the need for support continues.
Seminaries still depend on external assistance for basic needs such as food, books, and transportation. Through the Society of St. Peter Apostle, The Pontifical Mission Societies help sustain the formation of future priests—ensuring that the Church can continue its mission in generations to come.
A Church That Gives, Even in Poverty
Among the missionaries accompanying the life of the Church in Algeria is Father José María Cantal Rivas, of the Missionaries of Africa.
From the Sahara desert, where he now lives among a tiny Catholic community, he reflects on a fundamental aspect of mission: giving, even when one has little.
“In Algeria, although we are only about 12,000 Catholics, we celebrate World Mission Sunday,” he explained. “We give from what we have, like the widow in the Gospel.”
Even in the desert, where his community numbers just a handful of believers—seven, to be precise—they collect offerings during Lent and send them to support the missions.
“All the collection is sent to the missions,” he said. “And we are happy to be able, every year, to give what we can.”
This is the quiet, often unseen dimension of the Church’s missionary life—sustained through The Pontifical Mission Societies, which connect communities across the world in prayer, solidarity, and material support.
A Church Already on Mission
At the end of his journey, Pope Leo XIV offered a reflection that captured what he had encountered: “I leave Africa with an immeasurable treasure of faith, hope, and charity: a great treasure consisting of stories, faces, and testimonies, both joyful and sorrowful, which will greatly enrich my life and ministry as the Successor of Peter.”
What he saw, in many ways, was a Church already living the Gospel in its most essential form.
A Church that builds fraternity in minority contexts.
A Church that offers hope amid conflict.
A Church that heals wounds and restores dignity.
A Church that remains present, even at the margins.
And above all, a Church carried forward by missionaries—known and unknown—who continue to embody the Gospel in the places where it is most needed.
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