One can only imagine the gradient of the learning curve that Pope Leo XIV has navigated since his election. And given his 10-day trip to four African countries planned for April, it is also intriguing to explore the relationship between Leo and the continent of Africa less than a year into his pontificate. 

When he served as the global leader of the Augustinian order, Robert Prevost visited members of his congregation serving in various parts of the continent several times. I recall after his election seeing a blurry photo of him with parishioners in a remote parish of my hometown, Benin City, Nigeria. Pope Leo knows Africa. Africa knows Leo. 

This relationship will grow thanks to his April trip. An apostolic journey of this duration is a major testament to the religious weight of the continent and will provide many opportunities for the pope to reconnect with a region that is home to a fast-growing Catholic population. The trend will surely be visibly illustrated by the massive turnout of Catholics to welcome the pope.

The leadership of the continent’s 280 million Catholics may seem at times out of step with the agenda of the pope. While the evidence suggests that synodality has received a mixed reception among the continent’s Catholic leaders, it is also true that Africa is underrepresented at the church’s highest levels of leadership. Drawing on its leadership potential would enrich the global Catholic Church. With the benefit of his prior knowledge of Africa and the opportunity to visit it again, Leo might encourage greater openness to synodality and remind the world that Africa’s place in the church matters.

Leo’s choice of countries for his visit is telling. Since he is a member of a religious order that traces its origins to St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430), Algeria offers a fitting setting for a papal pilgrimage. The Muslim-majority country is also the site of ongoing encounters between Christianity and Islam. A papal visit will draw attention to the delicate issue of the relationship between the two world religions and the conflict that sometimes tarnishes or undermines religious tolerance and coexistence in Africa.

It is worth noting that several of the countries on Leo’s itinerary are under regimes with questionable democratic credentials and records of economic dysfunction. In Algeria, Human Rights Watch reports continuing repression of dissent, constraint on civic discourse and restriction of freedom of expression, the press, association, assembly and movement. 

So, too, Angola: After 50 years of independence and ahead of elections in 2027, Angola’s political climate has deteriorated, with outbreaks of violence that could derail the fragile democracy cobbled together after decades of violence and conflict. 

In Equatorial Guinea, poverty is rampant as the nation struggles with endemic corruption and biting sanctions induced by illicit financial flows related to drug smuggling. And Cameroon is held captive by a regime that has overstayed its welcome by several decades, muzzled the opposition and left the economy in tatters. 

Pope Benedict XVI eulogized Africa as “an immense spiritual ‘lung’ for a humanity which seems to be in crisis of faith and hope.” Pope Leo’s visit will reiterate this message about Africa as a place of resilience and hope in the face of multiple adversities.

Another grim reality that must be on Leo’s mind is the spate of violence directed at Christians and their institutions in some parts of Africa. In Nigeria and the neighboring Sahel region, gangs of militants and religious extremists have attacked places of worship, schools and villages and have abducted children. Leo is aware of this situation and has been consistent in his condemnation of this trend. His pronouncements are suffused with prayers for the release of abducted Christians and their pastors and a cessation to the plague of religiously motivated violence and conflict. 

It is conceivable that in the future he will issue a more robust condemnation of this phenomenon, while encouraging greater resolve and hope on the part of vulnerable Christian communities.

Like his predecessors, Pope Leo possesses a quiet moral force that allows him to name social ills, advocate for the poor and vulnerable, and goad political leaders to prioritize peace, justice and integral human development. This first papal visit offers him an opportunity to listen to African Christians, learn about the realities of their daily life, and encourage Africans who have lost faith in political institutions and look up to the church for solace, solidarity and a sense of direction. 

His message of reconciliation, justice and peace in a turbulent world, along with the stress he places on the importance of diplomacy and dignity for people, especially the poor and the marginalized, will find enthusiastic reception during his peregrinations in Africa.

Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J., is dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California and the author of The Pope and the Pandemic: Lessons in Leadership in a Time of Crisis (Orbis, 2021).