Saint Joseph Catholic Church

As he spoke to journalists on his flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea today, Pope Leo paid tribute to Pope Francis on the anniversary of his passing and addressed a question about new cardinals.

“We join our prayers with his [the Pope’s] and earnestly implore all nations, leaders, and peoples to lay down their weapons, open their hearts, and embark on the difficult but necessary path of dialogue and peace,” the bishops of the war-torn nation said in their statement.

The typical member of the priestly ordination class of 2026 is a 33-year-old cradle Catholic, according to a newly released survey of 334 of the 428 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted for the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate and posted on the USCCB’s website.

Pope Leo XIV met with Angolan bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and pastoral workers this evening (video) and told them that “the first path is fidelity to Christ.”

“Both sides are coming out to receive him, and both sides are ready to listen to his message,” said Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda. “This is a miracle. And, although you could not identify them, the crowd in Bamenda was too big not to have separatists in there, which means that they were also on the road cheering the Pope passing.”

Archbishop Fuanya added:

When the Pope comes to a place, it is an event. But really that event is not as important as the aftermath of the event. The Pope has given speeches and messages. We have all clapped. We are all happy. What next?

That question is very important for all of us. I think that in the whole country, we have to sit down to digest all those messages. And secondly, we have to see what it takes to be able to implement them.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass today (video) in Saurimo, a remote city in eastern Angola, and called on the faithful to reject superstition and follow Christ in freedom.