Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Angola and hopes to bring a message of joy and encouragement to its long-suffering people.

His visit includes a trip to a shrine where enslaved Africans were baptized before being forced into the treacherous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

Pope Leo XIV touched down in the Angolan capital of Luanda on Saturday, April 18, beginning a three-day visit to the southern African country that is home to 20 million Catholics. The pope’s visit comes as Angola continues to grapple with deep social challenges.

On his second day in Angola, Pope Leo urged the impoverished population not to give in to despair in the face of the many problems that afflict their nation, but to build hope and make a social commitment to helping those in need.

Pope Leo XIV is in Angola, where he slammed exploitation and corruption by the rich and powerful before 40,000 faithful at an open-air mass in the city of Saurimo. Also, the

"Mama Muxima is our heart. Mama Muxima is the first Lady that we go to, we call her, we ask for her intercession."

Pope Leo XIV traveled to the heart of Angola’s diamond country April 20, urging the tens of thousands gathered at the papal Mass in the country’s northeast to trust that “Christ hears the cry of the people” in the face of evil.