As Equatorial Guinea prepares to receive Pope Leo XIV, Vatican News speaks to residents of Malabo about their expectations for his upcoming visit.
By Joseph Tulloch - Malabo Just north of the Equator, in the warm, volcano-studded waters of the Gulf of Guinea, lies the island of Bioko. Much of its surface is covered by mountains and tropical rainforest, but the island is also home to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea’s oldest city and, until January of this year, its capital. Later today, Tuesday 21st April, Pope Leo XIV will arrive in the city, for the fourth and final leg of his Apostolic Journey across Africa. He will encounter a country which has, in many ways, undergone a total transformation since it last received a visit from a Pope in 1982 - due in large part to the discovery of large oil reserves in the mid 1990s. Since then, the country has become, per capita, one of the richest in Africa. This newfound wealth is visible from the moment you arrive at Malabo’s hyper-sleek, modern airport, as well as elsewhere in the city, such as at the state university’s new Leo XIV campus, which has just been renamed in honour of the visiting Pope. In other ways, however, the country has changed little since Pope John Paul II paid his visit more than four decades ago. Equatorial Guinea’s oil wealth is extremely unevenly distributed, and poverty therefore remains widespread – the country ranks 133rd out of 193 on the UN’s Human Development Index. “We have many issues here”, says Fr José Ndongo, episcopal vicar for pastoral activities in the Archdiocese of Malabo, “but the Pope’s visit will give us some courage, some strength, to continue as the Christians that we are”. One issue on the minds of many people we meet around Malabo is the sudden death of 39-year old priest Fortunato Nsue Esono, Vicar General of the Archdiocese, just three days ago. In addition to poverty, political problems, and a “tribalist” mentality – Equatorial Guinea is home to a number of ethnic groups, which have at times come into conflict – Fr Ndong highlights the damage caused by the arrival of fundamentalist “sects” which, he says, are drawing believers away from the Catholic Church and “confusing” the faithful. The majority of Equatoguineans, however, remain Catholic. At Mass in St Elizabeth's Cathedral, in central Malabo, their faith is on clear display, with chants and singing and, later in the evening, packed pews for Eucharistic adoration. “The life of faith in Equatorial Guinea is a very vibrant one”, says Fr Diosdado Lorenzo, CMF, headteacher at the Claret High School. “During the services, people are ready to share their joys, their sadness, their sufferings, their hopes with the Lord.” It is this final word – hope – which, in conversation with residents of Malabo, comes up most when Pope Leo’s visit is mentioned. “There are issues here”, says Fr Ndong, but “as Jesus followers, we cannot lose our faith and our hope. We think that the Pope will help us to maintain that hope.”