More than a half-million people expected at Pope Leo XIV’s Mass in Cameroon

Pope Leo XIV arrives to celebrate Mass at Bamenda Airport, Cameroon, Thursday, April 16, 2026, on the fourth day of his 11-day pastoral visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) 2026-04-17T05:53:17Z YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Pope Leo XIV neared the halfway point in his four-nation tour of Africa on Friday with a day focused on encouraging Cameroon’s young people, first with a big Mass and then a visit to the country’s Catholic university. Leo was travelling Friday to Douala, Cameroon’s main port city, to celebrate Mass and visit a hospital. The Vatican predicted some 600,000 people would turn out for the liturgy, the biggest crowd Leo is expected to draw on his 11-day odyssey , the first to Africa by history’s first American pope. Later Friday back in the capital Youande, Leo had an appointment with students, professors and administrators at the Africa" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="116878" data-entity-type="organization">Catholic University of Central Africa. Popes have often used such encounters, especially in the developing world, to rally young people to persevere in the face of poverty, corruption and other challenges. Catholics represent about 29% of Cameroon’s 29 million people. It is an overwhelmingly young country, where the median age is 18. An attention to young people Leo has already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including in his opening speech to President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest leader. In the speech, Leo demanded the “chains of corruption” in Cameroon be broken and said Cameroon’s youth represent the future and hope of the country. But with Biya in power since 1982, Cameroon perhaps represents the most dramatic example of the tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders. Despite being an oil-producing country experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites. “Of course, when unemployment and social exclusion persist, frustration can lead to violence,” Leo warned in his opening address to Biya and government authorities earlier this week. “Investing in the education, training, and entrepreneurship of young people is, therefore, a strategic choice for peace. It is the only way to curb the outflow of wonderful talent to other parts of the world.” (