Pope Leo XIV calls for ‘hope’ before 100,000 faithful in Angola

AFP | Luanda

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Tens of thousands of people attended a giant open-air mass by Pope Leo XIV outside the Angolan capital yesterday, where he delivered a message of hope to the resource-rich country marked by poverty and inequality.

Leo flew to Portuguese-speaking Angola on Saturday, the third leg of a whirlwind four-nation African tour on which he has condemned corruption and the plunder of the continent’s resources -- and had a high-profile spat with US President Donald Trump.

Around 100,000 people attended the pontiff’s first mass in Angola at Kilamba, around 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Luanda, the Vatican said, citing local authorities.

The pope encouraged the crowd “to look to the future with hope” in a “new beginning” for the nation still scarred by a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002.