Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he celebrates a Mass in the Saint Augustine Basilica in Annaba, Algeria, Tuesday, April 14, 2026, on the second day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-04-15T06:38:05Z<\/p>\n
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV<\/a><\/span> is heading to the central African nation of Cameroon<\/a><\/span> with a message of peace for its separatist region and for talks with President Paul Biya, the 93-year-old leader whose grip on power was extended for an eighth term in a widely disputed election last year.<\/p>\n The Vatican says fighting corruption in the mineral-rich country and insisting on the correct uses of political authority are expected to be themes of Leo\u2019s visit, which starts Wednesday with his arrival in Yaounde, the capital. Leo was travelling to Cameroon from Algeria, the first stop on his four-nation Africa tour.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The Vatican has made clear that Catholic social teaching disapproves of the types of authoritarian leaders that Leo is encountering on his visit, the first to the continent by history\u2019s first American pope.<\/p>\n Biya<\/a><\/span> is the world\u2019s oldest leader and has led the central African nation since 1982.<\/p>\n Leo will meet with Biya upon arrival at the presidential palace in the capital Yaounde. He\u2019ll then address Cameroon government authorities, civil service representatives and diplomats before visiting an orphanage run by a Catholic religious order of nuns.<\/p>\n Cameroon\u2019s opposition has contested the result of the Oct. 12 election that secured the victory for Biya. His election rival, Issa Tchiroma Bakary<\/a><\/span>, claims to have won and has called on Cameroonians to reject the official result.<\/p>\n