APR 20 (V7N) - On the eighth day of his Africa tour, Pope Leo XIV traveled Monday to Saurimo, the capital of Lunda Sul province, about 800 kilometers east of Luanda. Despite being home to Angola’s largest diamond mine, Catoca, which produces 75 percent of the country’s diamonds, the province remains deeply impoverished. Around a third of Angola’s population lives below the World Bank poverty line.

The pontiff celebrated an open‑air mass expected to draw 30,000 people before visiting a home for the elderly, underscoring the Catholic Church’s support for communities suffering from poor infrastructure and services. Mining in the region has also been blamed for environmental damage.

Arriving in Angola on Saturday, Leo condemned the exploitation of natural resources, warning of “suffering, deaths, and social and environmental disasters” caused by unchecked extraction. His remarks were directed at government officials, including President Joao Lourenco.

On Sunday, at a mass attended by 100,000 worshippers, the pope urged Angolans to overcome past divisions and fight corruption with “a new culture of justice and sharing.”

Later Monday, he was scheduled to meet clergy to discuss challenges facing the church in Angola, including limited resources and the growing influence of evangelical movements.

Leo XIV is the third pope to visit Angola, following John Paul II in 1992 and Benedict XVI in 2009. The country endured a 27‑year civil war after independence from Portugal in 1975, leaving scars that still shape its society.

The pope’s Africa tour spans 18,000 kilometers over 11 days, beginning in Algeria, continuing through Cameroon, and concluding in Equatorial Guinea from April 21–23.

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