Pope Leo XIV's Farewell "I leave Africa with an immeasurable treasure...consisting of stories, faces and testimonies, both joyful and sorrowful, which will greatly enrich my life and ministry as the Successor of Peter"
After a ten-day visit to four countries, Pope Leo XIV with his entourage boarded the flight for just over six hours, from Malabo airport to Rome-Fiumicino.
; A long, intense journey, from the Augustinian sites in Algeria, with the Christian community that continues to uphold a faith built on service, dialogue, and martyrdom, to Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, where this morning the Pontiff celebrated the final Mass in the presence of 30,000 faithful, a third more than expected. The pope's mission that concludes April 23.
Farewell Address of the Holy Father
Dear brothers and sisters,
The time has come for me to depart from Equatorial Guinea and also from Africa at the conclusion of the Apostolic Journey that God has permitted me to make over these past ten days.
I am grateful to the Archbishop, the other Bishops, Monsignor Juan, the clergy and all of you — the people of God journeying in this land. Christ is the light of Equatorial Guinea, and you are salt of the earth and light of the world.
My gratitude also goes to the Civil Authorities of the country and to all who have contributed in various ways to the success of my visit.
I leave Africa with an immeasurable treasure of faith, hope and charity: a great treasure consisting of stories, faces and testimonies, both joyful and sorrowful, which will greatly enrich my life and ministry as the Successor of Peter.
As in the early centuries of the Church, Africa today is called to make a decisive contribution to the holiness and the missionary character of the Christian people. May this be obtained through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, to whom I entrust you all, your families, your communities, your nation and all the people of Africa.
Dear brothers and sisters,
The time has come for me to depart from Equatorial Guinea and also from Africa at the conclusion of the Apostolic Journey that God has permitted me to make over these past ten days.
I am grateful to the Archbishop, the other Bishops, Monsignor Juan, the clergy and all of you — the people of God journeying in this land. Christ is the light of Equatorial Guinea, and you are salt of the earth and light of the world.
My gratitude also goes to the Civil Authorities of the country and to all who have contributed in various ways to the success of my visit.
I leave Africa with an immeasurable treasure of faith, hope and charity: a great treasure consisting of stories, faces and testimonies, both joyful and sorrowful, which will greatly enrich my life and ministry as the Successor of Peter.
As in the early centuries of the Church, Africa today is called to make a decisive contribution to the holiness and the missionary character of the Christian people. May this be obtained through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, to whom I entrust you all, your families, your communities, your nation and all the people of Africa.
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