Skip to content

PHOTOS: Pope Leo XIV visits prisoners, meets with families, says Mass in Equatorial Guinea

Pope Leo XIV looks out the window of the papal plane en route to Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV looks out the window of the papal plane en route to Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

The Holy Father is wrapping up his papal trip to the African continent after visiting multiple countries there.

Pope Leo XIV said Mass and visited with several communities including incarcerated prisoners during his first full day in Equatorial Guinea on April 22.

The itinerary represented the last full day the Holy Father will spend in Africa during the papal trip, which commenced on April 13 and has seen the pope visit Algiers, Cameroon, and Angola before finishing in the small coastal nation.

Hereʼs a look at some of Pope Leo XIVʼs activities in Equatorial Guinea on April 22:

Pope Leo XIV stands with airline staff en route to Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV stands with airline staff en route to Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted upon his arrival at Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted upon his arrival at Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is given a formal greeting upon his arrival at Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is given a formal greeting upon his arrival at Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted by Catholics at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted by Catholics at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Colorful smoke drifts above Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Colorful smoke drifts above Pope Leo XIV at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV stands beneath a balloon formation of a rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV stands beneath a balloon formation of a rosary at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV processes during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV processes during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV presides over Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV incenses the altar during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV incenses the altar during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV elevates the chalice during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV elevates the chalice during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets Catholics during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets Catholics during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets Catholics during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets Catholics during Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV unveils a plaque at the Pope Francis Technology School in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV unveils a plaque at the Pope Francis Technology School in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV blesses the Pope Francis Technology School in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV blesses the Pope Francis Technology School in Mengomeyén, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted upon his arrival in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV is greeted upon his arrival in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV prays at a monument to those who died in the 2021 explosions at Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV prays at a monument to those who died in the 2021 explosions at Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV prays at the Cathedral of St. James and Our Lady of the Pillar in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV prays at the Cathedral of St. James and Our Lady of the Pillar in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV addresses prisoners at Bata Prison, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV addresses prisoners at Bata Prison, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks to prisoners at Bata Prison, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks to prisoners at Bata Prison, Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
A prison inmate in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV on April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
A prison inmate in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, kisses the hand of Pope Leo XIV on April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets a crowd under umbrellas during a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets a crowd under umbrellas during a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd at a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd at a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
A crowd of families assembles during a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
A crowd of families assembles during a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Dancers put on a show for Pope Leo XIV during a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Dancers put on a show for Pope Leo XIV during a meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV receives a gift from a woman while meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV receives a gift from a woman while meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks while meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV speaks while meeting with families at Bata Stadium in Equatorial Guinea, Wednesday, April 22, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

Follow the Live Updates of Pope Leo’s Trip in Africa available at EWTN News.

This article was originally published on EWTN News in English.

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

EWTN Vatican on WhatsApp

EWTN News Staff

The EWTN News Staff is a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Washington, D.C., and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. You can contact us at contactnews@ewtn.com with questions.

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

Holy See calls on UN to eradicate surrogacy ‘in all its forms’

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, laid out the economic reasons surrogacy

Archbishop Fernández didn’t side with alleged sex abuser, archdiocese says

The following article was previously issued on CNA. A spokesperson for Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Vatican’s newly

Alleged Victims of Rupnik Have Hopeful Expectations of Pope Francis’ Decision

Alleged victims of Father Marko Rupnik expressed approval of Pope Francis' decision to remove the statute of limitations and initiate a new case against the accused priest, seeing it as a step towards truth.

Vatican News: First Month of Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate

A look back at the historic first month of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate—from his formal possession of Rome’s basilicas to a major theological symposium and the release of his first biography, all amid the ongoing Jubilee Year.

A Journalist’s Eyewitness to the Second Vatican Council

VATICAN CITY — Sixty years ago, on December 8, 1965, the Catholic Church concluded one of the most

Pope Leo XIV appoints Auxiliary Bishop Michael Pham as bishop of San Diego

Pope Leo XIV on Thursday appointed Bishop Michael Pham as bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. He will rise from the position of auxiliary bishop there and succeed Cardinal Robert McElroy as head of the diocese.

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTNVatican.com