Crowds lined the roads to welcome Pope Leo XIV to Cameroon on Wednesday for a three-day trip that includes a visit to the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist conflict, where he is expected to bring a message of peace.
After two days in Algeria marred by two suicide attacks and a spat with US President Donald Trump, the pontiff’s plane landed in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde shortly before 3:00 p.m. local time.
On his way to meet President Paul Biya, who has ruled the mainly French-speaking country since 1982, the US-born pope blessed the mass of faithful who had lined the route from an open-top car. Thousands of people, some playing music, singing and dancing, had already gathered in the scorching sunshine outside the airport to welcome his arrival.
“It’s such a relief that the pope is coming to see us, because there are so many problems in this country,” Helene Ebogo, 19, told AFP outside the airport.
In Cameroon, where more than a third of the around 30 million people are Catholic, the Church plays a key mediation role and runs a large network of hospitals, schools and charities.
On Thursday, the pope will make a high-security visit to a conflict zone where English-speaking separatists are fighting the army. The violence has seen civilians become targets of killings and kidnappings. Earlier this week, separatist groups announced a three-day truce starting on Wednesday to allow the highly symbolic visit.
“We hope that as soon as he sets foot on Cameroonian soil, the war will stop,” Benedicte Belinka, dressed in a tunic bearing the pope’s image, told AFP.
On Friday, Leo holds mass for hundreds of thousands in a stadium in the economic capital Douala. He leaves Cameroon for Angola on Saturday.
The pope’s stay in Algeria was marred by twin suicide attacks in the city of Blida on Monday. No deaths have been confirmed other than those of the bombers.
The tour initially risked being overshadowed by Trump’s remarks that he was “not a big fan” of the pope after the American pontiff called for peace in the Middle East. Leo brushed the jibes aside, telling reporters on the papal plane: “The Gospel says… blessed are the peacemakers. I have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel.”
