MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) — Pope Leo XIV arrived Tuesday in Equatorial Guinea for the final leg of his four-nation African journey, a country that presents perhaps the most diplomatically delicate challenge of this trip and his young papacy.

The papal plane landed in the city of Malabo at around 11:35 a.m., with a crowd of officials and citizens at the local airport and along the major roads to welcome him.

“There is a lot of joy today because we waited 44 years for the pope to come, after the visit of John Paul II,” said Diosdao Marques, a senior Catholic official in the country. “It’s a blessing for the country, we hope many things will change and we will deepen our faith.”

The former Spanish colony on Africa’s western coast is run by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83. He has been in power since 1979 and is accused of widespread corruption and authoritarianism.

The discovery of offshore oil in the mid-1990s transformed Equatorial Guinea’s economy virtually overnight, with oil now accounting for almost half of its GDP and more than 90% of exports, according to the African Development Bank.

Yet more than half of the country’s nearly 2 million people live in poverty. And rights groups including Human Rights Watch — as well as court cases in France and Spain — have documented how revenues have enriched the ruling Obiang family rather than the broader population.

Leo has shown he won't mince words on this maiden African journey as pope, and the church’s teaching on the scourge of social inequity and corruption is clear. If Leo’s stop in Cameroon was any indication, the pope's messaging in Equatorial Guinea might be just as sharp.

Upon arriving in Yaounde, Cameroon, last week, Leo met with President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest leader. Like Obiang, Biya has also been in power for decades — since 1982 — and like Obiang, he’s accused of presiding over an authoritarian government.

Leo didn’t hold back as he stood next to Biya and delivered his arrival speech in the presidential palace.

“In order for peace and justice to prevail, the chains of corruption — which disfigure authority and strip it of its credibility — must be broken,” Leo said. “Hearts must be set free from an idolatrous thirst for profit.”

Source: WPLG