Pope Leo XIV will travel to Angola in 2026, the Vatican’s ambassador to the southern African nation said, adding yet another destination to the still-emerging slate of papal travel plans for the year. Source: NCR Online.
The Vatican has not officially confirmed the visit, and no dates or program details have been announced. But if the trip goes forward, it would mark Leo’s first visit to Africa as pope and could be his first international journey of the year.
Since his election in May 2025, Leo has made one international trip – to Turkey and Lebanon in November 2025 – and was largely confined to Rome to preside over events associated with the 2025 Holy Year.
“Pope Leo XIV intends to visit the African continent, and Angola is also included on the itinerary for this trip,” Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel, papal nuncio to Angola, said during a January 13 news conference in Luanda.
“We do not have details right now about the exact date or program,” he added. “I hope that the Holy Father’s visit can be an occasion to rediscover the values that guide the Angolan people, and that those values can be shared with the diverse communities that live and work throughout the world.”
Pope Benedict XVI was the last pontiff to visit Angola, travelling to the country in 2009.
News of the Pope’s possible Angola visit follows comments earlier this month by Cardinal José Cobo Cano of Madrid, who said preparations are also underway for a papal trip to Spain in 2026 with potential stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, a migrant hotspot.
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Pope to travel to Angola in 2026, nuncio says (By Justin McLellan, NCR Online)
