Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass in the city of Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, on Wednesday, with the Vatican estimating that 100,000 people attended the service.
The Mass was celebrated at Mongomo’s Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which was consecrated in 2011.
Leo, who is on an 11-day tour of Africa, greeted the crowd and the presidential family before the religious service.
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled the country since 1979 — making him the world’s longest-serving leader.
What did the pope say during his Mass in Equatorial Guinea?
During his Homily, Leo urged citizens to work together to build a society “capable of engendering a new sense of justice,” one where there is “greater room for freedom” and where “the dignity of the human person always may be safeguarded.”
Further, he called on those present to work to “serve the common good rather than private interests — bridging the gap between the privileged and the disadvantaged.”
In his remarks, Leo focused attention on the Central African nation’s record of human rights abuses and massive inequality when it comes to distributing the oil-rich nation’s wealth.
After Mass, Leo was scheduled to visit a prison in the port city of Bata, continuing in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who made such visits a priority.
Equatorial Guinea’s prisons and justice system have been repeatedly singled out by the UN and condemned by human rights groups and the US State Department.
Pope rails against inequality and justice as presidential family watch
Africa accounts for over 20% of Catholics worldwide and over 70% of Equatorial Guinea’s population of 1.8 million identifies as such.
President Obiang, who was accompanied on Wednesday by his wife and his son Teodoro “Teddy” Nguema Obiang — Equatorial Guinea’s vice president — has long been accused of authoritarianism and corruption during his time leading the nation.
Recently, a French court convicted of the younger Obiang of embezzlement and ordered him to pay a €30 million ($35.2 million) fine as well as subjecting him to property seizures and a three-year suspended sentence.
Last year, the US temporarily waived corruption sanctions on the younger Obiang so that he could travel to a UN gathering and visit American cities. He also met with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.
After those corruption sanctions were lifted, it was reported that Equatorial Guinea was one of several African nations that was paid millions of dollars by the Trump administration to take migrants deported from the US.
Pope Leo has called the Trump administration’s overall migration deportation policy “extremely disrespectful.”
Edited by: Alex Berry
