During his April trip to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV experienced a smiling moment that immediately went viral on social networks. An intrusive insect took care of lightening up an otherwise demanding African tour. When an annoying fly landed on the Holy Father, he did not let it bother him and stunned it. The insect then brushed itself off and looked at it after a while.
The spontaneous incident provided a welcome relief during a busy 11-date, four-country tour that is otherwise filled with serious topics. Commenters on social networks had a good time, and several joked that the fly was probably “excommunicated” for its audacity. At the same time, many users appreciated that this small act showed the ordinary and human face of an otherwise high-ranking authority. You can find the video in the middle of the article.
Pope Leo XIV. on Thursday, he ended his tour of four African countries with a mass at the stadium in Equatorial Guinea, where tens of thousands of people gathered. An estimated 30,000 people attended the Pope’s final mass. In his homily, he said that the Christian message means that “every nation is freed from the slavery of evil” and he called on the participants to live their faith with joy.
According to the Vatican News portal, the lion at the Holy Mass was based on the story of the Ethiopian eunuch from the Acts of the Apostles and reminded that the Holy Scriptures are fully revealed in the community of the Church and in the light of faith. “He emphasized that the Eucharist is the bread of eternal life that frees man from the slavery of evil and makes him a witness of the Gospel in history,” the website said.
Leo XIV. started his apostolic journey a week ago on Monday (April 13) in Algeria – a country with a majority Muslim population. Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco claimed that the purpose of the tour was to “build bridges between the Christian and Muslim worlds.”
Subsequently, he arrived in Cameroon on Wednesday for a three-day visit. In his speech in the English-speaking western part of the country, which is the focus of conflict between separatist rebels and government forces, he condemned the situation in the region while criticizing world leaders who spend billions on wars. The third stop of the Pope was Angolawhose inhabitants he urged to overcome divisions after decades of conflict. At the same time, he condemned the exploitation of Africa by the powerful.
On Tuesday, the Pope arrived in Equatorial Guinea, where he appealed to its inhabitants to contribute to reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, and drew attention to the prisoners who are often forced to live in alarming conditions in this country. During a visit to the prison in Bata, he assured the prisoners that no one is excluded from God’s love, and reminded that true justice leads to the restoration of the lives of victims, perpetrators and the whole society, reports Vatican News.
During his tour, the Pope repeatedly called for social justice, peace and respect for human dignity, while condemning inequality, corruption and the unfair exploitation of natural resources by “tyrants”. His next foreign trip will be to Spain from June 6 to 12, reports AFP.
