Pope Leo draws 100,000 to Angola Mass, condemns corruption

Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the “scourge of corruption” at a giant open-air Mass attended by 100,000 worshippers near Angola’s capital Sunday, before visiting a venerated historic shrine in the country scarred by poverty and inequality.



Leo arrived in resource-rich Angola on Saturday on the third leg of a whirlwind four-nation African tour on which he condemned the plunder of the continent’s resources—and had a high-profile spat with US President Donald Trump.



Authorities said 100,000 people turned out for the Mass at Kilamba, around 30 kilometers from the capital, some sleeping on the ground overnight in anticipation.



After pushing through the crowds in his popemobile, Leo delivered a message of hope for the country still marked by a 27-year civil war that ended in 2002.



“We too can and want to build a country where old divisions will definitively be overcome, where hatred and violence will disappear, where the scourge of corruption will be healed by a new culture of justice and sharing,” he said.



On arriving Saturday from Cameroon, Leo went straight into an event with Angolan President Joao Lourenco and other officials where he spoke out against the “suffering” caused by poverty and the rampant exploitation of natural resources.