Pope Leo XIV is set to visit a prison notorious for its squalid conditions in Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday, marking the penultimate stop of his marathon tour across Africa, during which he has spoken out strongly on global issues.
The pontiff arrived in the oil-rich yet deeply unequal nation on Tuesday, following visits to Algeria, Cameroon, and Angola. During his stay, he is expected to meet inmates at Bata prison, a facility long criticised by human rights experts for extreme overcrowding, poor sanitation, and mistreatment of prisoners.
In addition to the prison visit, Pope Leo XIV will meet with families and young people at a stadium in Bata. He will also pay tribute to victims of a 2021 disaster that devastated the coastal city, when a fire triggered explosions at a munitions depot, killing more than 100 people and injuring around 600.
Beyond Bata, the country’s largest city and economic hub, the pope will travel to Mongomo, near the border with Gabon, where he is scheduled to celebrate mass and visit a local school.
The pope began his visit by urging Equatorial Guinea to place itself “in the service of law and justice” — pointed remarks in a country often accused of authoritarian governance and human rights abuses.
However, his tone appeared more measured compared to earlier stops on his tour, where he denounced “tyrants” destabilising the world, criticised “exploitation” by powerful elites, and even clashed with Donald Trump after the US leader objected to the pontiff’s call for an end to the Middle East conflict.
At 70, Pope Leo XIV faces a delicate balancing act in Equatorial Guinea — supporting the Catholic faithful while avoiding any perception of endorsing the government of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has ruled since 1979 and, at 83, is the world’s longest-serving non-monarch head of state.
Approximately 80 percent of the country’s two million citizens are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonial rule. Despite significant oil wealth — with hydrocarbons accounting for 46 percent of the economy and over 90 percent of exports — stark inequality persists.
According to Human Rights Watch, “vast oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the small elite surrounding the president, while a large proportion of the population continues to live in poverty”.
The pope was welcomed on arrival by the president and later spoke out against the “dramatically” widening wealth gap during an event attended by Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, widely known as Teodorin. The vice president, convicted in France in 2019 on charges of money laundering and embezzlement of public funds, is known for showcasing a lavish lifestyle on social media in a country where most citizens live below the poverty line.
Pope Leo XIV will conclude his 11-day, 18,000-kilometre African tour on Thursday with an open-air mass in the capital, Malabo, before returning to Rome.
