Pope Leo XIV Condemns Corruption and Exploitation in Angola’s Diamond Region During Africa Tour

Pope Leo XIV has delivered a sharp rebuke of corruption, inequality, and resource exploitation during a high-profile visit to Angola’s diamond-rich northeast, calling out the social cost of Africa’s natural wealth.

The American pontiff made the remarks on Monday in Saurimo, about 800 kilometres from the capital, Luanda, as part of his ongoing 11-day apostolic journey across four African countries. The city, capital of Lunda Sul province, sits close to one of Angola’s largest diamond mines, Catoca.

Speaking in Portuguese during an open-air Mass attended by tens of thousands, Pope Leo warned that injustice and greed were robbing ordinary citizens of dignity and opportunity despite the country’s vast mineral wealth.

“We can see today how the hope of many people is frustrated by violence, exploited by the powerful and defrauded by the rich,” he said. “When injustice corrupts hearts, the bread of all becomes the possession of a few.”

Saurimo, a city of around 200,000 people, lies in a region long marked by poverty despite its central role in Angola’s diamond industry, which accounts for the bulk of national production. Many communities continue to face displacement, environmental damage, and limited access to basic services.

Authorities estimated that about 40,000 worshippers attended the Mass in person, while another 20,000 followed from surrounding areas under heavy security and intense tropical heat.

During his visit, the Pope also met elderly residents at a care home housing people abandoned by their families or affected by violence. The encounter highlighted the social challenges facing communities in the resource-rich province.

Pope Leo’s message in Angola continued a recurring theme of his African tour, where he has repeatedly criticised economic injustice and the exploitation of natural resources in countries rich in oil and minerals.

On the first leg of his visit in Angola, he had already warned that Africa’s wealth should not be a source of suffering, asking how many lives and communities had been damaged by unchecked extraction and corruption.

Despite its natural resources, Angola remains one of the most unequal countries in the region, with around a third of its population living below the World Bank poverty line.

The Pope is also expected to meet church leaders in Luanda to discuss growing challenges, including limited resources for the Catholic Church and the rising influence of evangelical movements.

Leo XIV is the third pope to visit Angola, a nation still shaped by the legacy of its long civil war that followed independence from Portugal in 1975.