In Angola, Pope Leo XIV Faces the Legacy of Slavery

When Pope Leo XIV visits the African nation of Angola on Saturday, he will encounter one of the Catholic Church’s enduring challenges on the continent.Angola has more than 20 million Catholics, but not a single cardinal, making the country a stark example of Africa’s lack of representation in Vatican leadership.Only 14 of the 121 cardinals eligible to elect a pope are from Africa, where the church is growing faster than anywhere else in the world.There are 365,000 Catholics for every bishop in Africa, a ratio higher than any other continent.But the Angolan church is the oldest Catholic community in southern Africa, with a history that goes back more than 500 years.Portuguese settlers arrived in the Kongo Kingdom, which is part of present-day Angola, toward the end of the 15th century.

Its Black rulers quickly embraced Catholicism.They were baptized, established local clergy and sent an envoy to represent them at the Vatican.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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