Pope Leo ended his four-nation Africa tour in Equatorial Guinea with a rain-soaked visit to a Bata prison where inmates chanted "Freedom, freedom!" He urged that prisoners be allowed educational and work opportunities while serving sentences. The trip included a Mass in Mongomo attended by President Obiang and his son Teodorin, who was convicted in absentia in France. Activists had hoped the pope would address deportees sent from the U.S., but he did not raise the issue publicly; he also prayed at the 2021 Bata explosion site where rights groups call for an independent probe.
Rain-Soaked Finale: Pope Leo Visits Bata Prison as Inmates Chant "Freedom"
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Pope Leo closed a four-nation Africa tour in dramatic fashion on Wednesday, greeting crowds in Equatorial Guinea despite heavy rain after visiting a prison in the port city of Bata where inmates shouted for freedom.
Spanish-speaking Equatorial Guinea, long criticized by rights groups as one of the region’s most repressive states, has been led since 1979 by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the world’s longest-serving head of state. The oil-rich nation has maintained close ties with the United States in part because of its hydrocarbon resources.
Pope Leo XIV leads a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Earlier the pope celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo — the largest religious building in Central Africa, located on the edge of the Congo Basin rainforest — where he decried widening wealth gaps and urged the faithful to "serve the common good rather than private interests."
He later visited the Bata prison, which Amnesty International says often detains people for years without effective access to lawyers. In an outdoor yard at the facility, Leo listened to testimonies from several inmates as rain began to fall; the detainees remained standing as he spoke.
Pope Leo XIV blesses the faithful as he arrives to lead a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Calls For Freedom
The pope urged that "every effort" be made so prisoners have opportunities to study and work while serving their sentences. As he prepared to leave the yard with Justice Minister Reginaldo Biyogo Mba Ndong Anguesomo on stage, some inmates began jumping and chanting in the rain:
"Freedom, freedom!"
Fireworks emit smoke in the colours of the Vatican's flag on the day Pope Leo XIV is to hold a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
The government rejects accusations of widespread rights abuses. Before the pope’s remarks, Justice Minister Biyogo told attendees that Equatorial Guinea treats prisoners in line with United Nations standards and reiterated the state’s commitment to guaranteeing human and fundamental rights.
Last year the Obiang government signed an agreement with the Trump administration to accept deportees from other countries — part of a pattern of similar arrangements across Africa that have drawn criticism from immigration lawyers and advocates. A coalition of about 70 NGOs published an open letter urging the pope to press for "fair, humane and lawful treatment" of those deported; activists said some were being pressured to return to their countries of origin. The pope did not publicly address the issue of deportees while in Equatorial Guinea or during his stop in Cameroon, which was the second country on his itinerary.
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
High-Profile Attendees and Local Reaction
President Obiang and his son, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue — known as Teodorin and noted for his flamboyant lifestyle on social media — attended the Mongomo Mass. Teodorin was convicted in absentia in France in October 2017 on embezzlement charges; a French court ordered the seizure of more than 100 million euros in assets linked to him.
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead a holy Mass at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
The Vatican estimated roughly 100,000 people gathered inside and outside Mongomo’s basilica to see the pope. Crowds pressed around a colonnade modeled on St. Peter’s Square in Rome, dancing and cheering as his white popemobile arrived; event organizers released colored smoke in the air to echo the Vatican and national flags.
Seventy-year-old Mairano Nve told reporters he was delighted by the visit: "It is a huge joy to have the pope visiting us. He just wants to see us and give us a blessing in the name of Jesus." More than 70% of Equatorial Guinea’s roughly 1.8 million people identify as Catholic.
Inmates carry a flag with an image of Pope Leo XIV ahead of the pope's arrival for a visit at the Bata prison in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, April 22, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Leo is the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea since 1982. His trip — covering nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) across 18 flights to 11 cities in four countries — has been one of the most complex papal overseas tours in recent memory.
On Wednesday the pope also prayed at the site of a 2021 explosion at a military barracks in Bata that killed more than 100 people. The government blamed the disaster on poor ordnance storage; rights groups continue to call for an independent investigation, which has not yet occurred.
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