Pope Leo XIV is set to arrive in Cameroon on Wednesday, the second leg of an African journey marred by taunts from US President Donald Trump and suicide attacks in Algeria on the first day.
The pontiff will meet Cameroonian President Paul Biya at the start of his four-day visit to the predominantly French-speaking country, before traveling to a conflict zone where English-speaking rebels have been fighting the army for nearly a decade.
The scheduled private encounter with 93-year-old Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, at 3:20 p.m. (1420 GMT) has sparked division among Catholics in the central African country, which is thought to account for roughly one-third of the population.
Clergy members have expressed concern that it may allow Biya to enhance his image, six months after protests against his dubious re-election were ruthlessly quashed.
Biya, who has been in power since 1982, is now serving his ninth consecutive term.
On Thursday, the 70-year-old pope travels in high security to Bamenda, the epicenter of the separatist rebellion, to pray for peace in front of 20,000 believers.
The Anglophone Crisis began in the 1970s, when Cameroon’s French- and English-speaking regions united, and the Anglophone minority began to fear losing its particular legal and cultural norms.
In 2016, a crackdown on protesters sparked a confrontation between the army and English-speaking separatists, which has yet to be resolved.
According to rights NGOs, the violence has resulted in over 6,000 deaths by 2024.
Leo began his historic trip to Africa on Monday in Algeria, where he visited the birthplace of Christian scholar Saint Augustine and conducted mass at a basilica that attracts 18,000 pilgrims each year, including Muslims and Jews.
He exhorted Algerian Christians to “bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships, and a dialogue lived out day by day.”
His stay was overshadowed by twin suicide attacks in Blida.
Authorities have yet to respond, but an informed source confirmed the attacks, which are not thought to be tied to the pope’s presence in the predominantly Muslim country.
Aside from the bombers, no further deaths have been confirmed.
Leo’s debut foreign tour was nearly overshadowed by attacks from US President Donald Trump.
Trump stated that he was “not a big fan” of the Pope after the American pontiff appealed for peace in the Middle East.
