Pope Leo XIV begins the final leg of his African tour on Tuesday with a visit to Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly vocal defences of human rights will be closely watched in one of the most closed-off states on the continent.
After three days in Angola, the US-born pontiff is due around noon (1100 GMT) in the Central African country, ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world’s longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch.
Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who 40 years ago became the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country of two million people, 80 percent of whom are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonisation.
Throughout his African tour, the pope has criticised tyranny and exploitation while promoting peace and social, swapping his previously reserved style for a tougher tone.
