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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Nesrine Malik

The pope’s African tour shows the continent is vital to the future of Catholicism

The pope standing inside the Popemobile
Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds as he arrives to lead mass in Bamenda, Cameroon, during his tour of Africa this month. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

Almost a year after his election, Pope Leo XIV made his first visit to Africa, the longest international trip of his tenure so far. The visit is heavy with symbolism at a time of global unsettlement, one during which the stature and importance of the pope extends far beyond the church. I spoke with Father Ambroise Tine, formerly secretary general of Caritas Senegal, and currently of the diocese of Thiès in Senegal, about the significance of the papal visit.

An Africa – and her diaspora – growing in importance

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