ALGIERS — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Cameroon carrying an appeal for peace in the country’s Anglophone region and to meet President Paul Biya, the 93-year-old leader who extended his hold on power in a disputed election last year. The trip to Yaounde is the second stop on a four-nation Africa tour that began in Algeria.
The Vatican said the visit will highlight combating corruption and stressing the proper use of political authority. Church teaching, the Vatican has noted, opposes the kinds of authoritarian leadership the pope is encountering on this tour; Biya has governed Cameroon since 1982.
On arrival in Yaounde, Leo will meet Biya at the presidential palace and then address government officials, civil servants and diplomats before visiting a Catholic-run orphanage. Authorities made a late program change: Biya, not the prime minister, will now speak before the pope, and the encounter will take place at the presidential palace instead of a conference center.
Cameroon’s opposition has challenged the Oct. 12 election that returned Biya to office. Rival candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary maintains he won and has urged citizens to reject the official result.
In remarks issued this week, the pope underlined the need for “authentic democracy” and warned that democracy without a moral foundation can become “a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of economic and technological elites.” He has emphasized that legitimate authority must be rooted in respect for human dignity.
A central event in Cameroon will be a “peace meeting” Thursday in Bamenda, a city in the northwest long affected by separatist violence. English-speaking separatists launched an insurgency in 2017 aiming to secede from the French-speaking majority; the conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 600,000, the International Crisis Group says.
On the eve of the pope’s arrival, English-speaking separatist groups announced a three-day pause in fighting to allow “safe travel” for the pontiff. The Unity Alliance said the pause reflects the visit’s “profound spiritual importance” and is meant to let civilians, pilgrims and dignitaries move safely.
Leo will celebrate a Mass Friday in Douala, where about 29% of residents are Catholic and some 600,000 people are expected to attend. He departs Saturday for Angola, with the trip concluding next week in Equatorial Guinea.