By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Pope Leo will visit four countries across Africa from April 13-23, the Vatican announced on Wednesday, with the pontiff making his first major overseas trip in 2026 to the continent where the Catholic Church is growing fastest.
The pope will also make a one-day visit on March 28 to Monaco, the microstate on the French Riviera, and will visit Spain from June 6-12, the Vatican said.
In Africa, Leo will visit Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. He is expected to draw large crowds, urge world leaders to support development on the continent, and highlight efforts at Catholic-Muslim dialogue.
VISIT SIGN OF VATICAN'S PRIORITY FOR AFRICA
Leo, elected in May to succeed the late Pope Francis as head of the 1.4-billion-member Church, has made only one overseas trip so far, visiting Turkey and Lebanon in November and December on a visit originally organised for Francis.
Vatican officials and African Church leaders say the upcoming papal tour in Africa is a sign of the priority the Church places on the continent.
"Pope Leo's visit will remind the world that Africa matters and the vibrancy of the Church in Africa remains at the heart of a thriving (global) Church," said Reverend Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, a Jesuit from Nigeria who led his order's communities across Africa from 2017-23.
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About 20% of the world's Catholics live on the continent, according to Vatican statistics.
As part of the trip to Spain, Leo is expected to visit the Canary Islands, which has become a major point of entry for migrants trying to get to Europe.
LEO WILL BE FIRST POPE TO VISIT ALGERIA
The last papal trip to Africa was in 2023, when Francis visited Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Pope Benedict XVI was the last pontiff to visit Angola and Cameroon, in 2009. John Paul II was the last pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, in 1982.
Algeria, an overwhelmingly Muslim country with a few thousand Catholics among its population of some 47 million people, has never hosted a papal visit before.
Leo, a member of the Augustinian religious order, has a special interest in visiting the country. Fourth century St. Augustine of Hippo, a major figure in the early Christian Church, was from an area that is now part of Algeria.
The tour will "shine the spotlight on countries in Africa that have experienced high religious growth but struggled politically and economically," said Orobator, dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.
The pope is also expected in 2026 to visit Peru, where he previously served as a missionary and bishop for decades. That visit will likely occur in November, local bishops said this month.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Alison Williams)
