Pope Leo in Equatorial Guinea: Eucharist is ‘source and summit’ of Church’s life and mission

On the final leg of his 11-day apostolic journey in Africa, Pope Leo XIV traveled across Equatorial Guinea on April 22, offering Mass, visiting a prison, and meeting with young people as he urged the nation to build a future grounded in hope, dignity, and the common good. 

Pope Leo celebrates Mass in Mongomo 

The day began with the Pope departing Malabo for Mongomo, where he celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, marking 170 years of Christian missionary presence in the country. In his homily, Pope Leo emphasized the centrality of the Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Church’s life,” describing it as the presence of Christ who “nourishes” and unites the faithful.

“The Eucharist truly contains every spiritual good of the Church: it is Christ, our Passover, who gives himself to us, he is the living Bread that nourishes us,” the Holy Father said. “His presence in the Eucharist reveals God’s infinite love for the entire human family and the way he encounters every woman and every man even today.”

He praised generations of missionaries, clergy, and laypeople who helped spread the Gospel in the country and became “themselves a sign of God’s love among you.” 

“With this in mind, you are called upon today to follow in the footsteps of the missionaries, pastors, and laypeople who have gone before you,” Pope Leo said to the faithful present. “Each and every one of you is invited to make a personal commitment that encompasses your entire life, so that the faith — celebrated so joyfully in your communities and in your liturgies — may also nourish your charitable works and the sense of responsibility toward your neighbor, for building up the common good.”

The Pope warned that authentic Christian witness requires perseverance and sacrifice and may bring persecution but said it remains the path to building a stronger and more just society. 

“Brothers and sisters,” Pope Leo said, “even when faced with personal, family, and social situations that are not always favorable, we can trust that the Lord is at work, making the good seed of his Kingdom grow in ways unknown to us, including when everything around us seems barren, and even in moments of darkness.”

According to the Holy Father, the motto chosen for his visit — “Christ, Light of Equatorial Guinea, Towards a Future of Hope” — reflects the nation’s hunger for a future “imbued with hope that is capable of engendering a new sense of justice and producing fruits of peace and fraternity.” 

He urged citizens to take responsibility for shaping that future by safeguarding the life and dignity of every person, proclaiming the Gospel, and becoming “builders of a future of hope, peace, and reconciliation.”

After Mass, Pope Leo visited the “Pope Francis Technology School,” an educational center dedicated to providing technological and vocational training, especially for the youth. 

Pope spreads message of justice and hope during prison visit

He then traveled to the coastal city of Bata, where he met with inmates at the city’s prison in the pouring rain. Speaking in the prison courtyard, Pope Leo stressed that “no one is excluded from God’s love” and that every person is “precious in the Lord’s eyes” even in the midst of suffering or wrongdoing.

Pope Leo also reflected on the role of the justice system, acknowledging its responsibility to safeguard society while emphasizing that it should also uphold the dignity of every person. 

“True justice seeks not so much to punish as to help rebuild the lives of victims, offenders and communities wounded by evil,” he said, adding that “there is no justice without reconciliation.”

Addressing the inmates directly, the Holy Father described prison not only as a place of confinement, but also as one of reflection and personal growth. 

“Life is not defined solely by one’s mistakes,” Pope Leo said. “There is always the possibility to start over.”

At the end of the encounter, a prisoner offered the Pope a wooden cross crafted inside the prison, saying it represented the inmates’ “stories, wounds, and hope” for a new beginning.

Pope Leo honors victims of explosions, meets with young people

Later in the afternoon, the Pope stopped at a memorial in Bata honoring victims of the 2021 Bata explosions that killed more than 100 people and injured hundreds more, according to Vatican News. Standing in the rain, he paused in silent prayer and paid homage to the victims. 

Pope Leo also met with young people and families at a local stadium in Bata, where more than 30,000 people welcomed him with music and celebration. 

In his address, Pope Leo pointed to attendees’ joy as a visible sign of faith, saying the “brightest light here is the one that shines in your eyes, on your faces, in your smiles, and through your songs,” bearing witness to Christ as “the joy, meaning, inspiration, and beauty of our lives.”  

Reflecting on a seminarian’s testimony about his call to the priesthood, Pope Leo said that “a life given to God is one of happiness,” but must be renewed daily through prayer, the Sacraments, and life with others.

He encouraged those discerning religious vocations, saying, “Do not be afraid to follow in [Christ’s] footsteps.”

The Pope also spoke about marriage and family life, describing it as a vocation in which spouses “continually rediscover one another” while cooperating with God in the gift of life and raising children. He called it a path of love, hope, and holiness lived out each day. 

He urged those present to become witnesses of love in their daily lives. 

“Let us be inspired by the beauty of love; let us become witnesses to the love that Jesus has given us and taught us!” he said. “Let us show every day that it is beautiful to love — that the greatest joys, in every situation, come from knowing how to give and from giving of ourselves, especially when we reach out to those most in need. The light of charity, nurtured in our homes and lived out in faith, can truly transform the world.”