Pope Leo To Visit Cameroon’s Conflict Zone
Pope Leo XIV will arrive in Cameroon on Wednesday for the second leg of his African tour, which has already been disrupted by insults from U.S. President Donald Trump and twin suicide attacks in Algeria.
The 70-year-old pontiff is expected to hold a private meeting with Cameroonian President Paul Biya at 3:20 pm local time.
He will then travel to Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist insurgency involving English-speaking rebels fighting government forces.
The planned encounter with the 93-year-old Biya, Africa’s longest-serving leader, in power since 1982 and now in his eighth term has divided Catholics in the country, who make up roughly one-third of the population.
Some clergy members fear the meeting will help polish the president’s image, especially after violent suppression of protests following his disputed re-election six months ago.
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On Thursday, the Pope will make a high-security visit to Bamenda, where he is set to pray for peace in front of around 20,000 worshippers.
The Anglophone Crisis traces its roots to the 1970s merger of French- and English-speaking regions of Cameroon.
English-speaking minorities have long feared the erosion of their legal and cultural identity. Protests in 2016 triggered a full-scale conflict that has claimed more than 6,000 lives by 2024, according to rights groups.
During his stop in Algeria on Monday, Pope Leo XIV visited the birthplace of Saint Augustine and celebrated mass at a major basilica.
He urged local Christians to “bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships and a dialogue lived out day by day”.
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His visit there was overshadowed by twin suicide bombings in Blida.
No casualties other than the bombers have been confirmed, and authorities have not linked the attacks to the Pope’s presence.
The tour has also drawn sharp criticism from the United States. President Donald Trump described himself as “not a big fan” of the Pope after the pontiff called for peace in the Middle East.
Vice President JD Vance added: “stick to matters of morality… and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy”.
Vance further stated at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia on Tuesday: “It’s important, in the same way that it’s important for the vice president of the United States to be careful when I talk about matters of public policy, I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology.”
Pope Leo XIV responded on the papal plane, saying: “The Gospel says… blessed are the peacemakers.”
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He added: “I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”
Cameroon is the fourth country visited by a pope in its history. The multi-ethnic nation, often called “mini-Africa”, has seen its capital Yaoundé decorated with banners and flags in honour of the visit.
On Friday, the Pope is scheduled to celebrate mass for hundreds of thousands at a stadium in the economic hub of Douala. He will depart for Angola on Saturday.