“Pope Leo
Pope Leo XIV has chosen his first destination for 2026. In the press conference on January 13, theArchbishop Kryspin Witold Dubielapostolic nuncio ofAngolaannounced that the official dates and schedules of the Pontiff’s visit will soon be defined: «At this moment we are preparing the plan and program for the Holy Father’s visit to Africa. We don’t have the precise details yet, but they will be communicated as soon as they are defined.”
The papal representative hopes that the Pope’s visit will allow us to “rediscover the values that formed the Angolan people” and share them with other global communities.
Pope Leo XIV’s connection with Africa
In December last year, Leo XIV had already expressed his intention to visit the African continent in 2026. He had indicated Algeria as a possible first stop, along with Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon. And now Angola has proven to be the first destination.
As a fervent Augustinian, the Pope wanted to make his first trip symbolically Algeriain the footsteps of Saint Augustine. And in fact, upon returning from the diplomatic trip to Turkey and Lebanon at the end of 2025, the Pope said that the next visit could be to Africa, in particular to Algeria. A nation for which Prevost has a weakness, as demonstrated by his commitment to immediately putting the country’s ecclesial issues to the test: he provided a bishop to Annaba, the ancient diocese of Augustine; an apostolic nuncio, previously vacant since March 2025. He finally received the Algerian president Tebboune. In short, a journey that is certainly among Leone’s priorities.
The pontiff has always been linked in a special way to Africathere is no doubt about this. The Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in South Africa recalled with almost emotion their meeting with the then Father Robert Francis Prevost. A connection demonstrated by direct experience in all the main areas: before the election to the papal throne, he had visited Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo several timeswhere in 2009 he even had the Augustinian University of Kinshasa as Prior General of the Order.
The other possible destinations
Not just Africa: a season of great travels is also looming for Leo XIV on the other continents, full of geopolitical and spiritual symbols and meanings. The most concrete hypothesis is a visit to Spainon the occasion of the inauguration of the Sagrada Família in Barcelonathe monumental work of Antoni Gaudí, with stops also in Madrid and Santiago de Compostela. It would be a journey to the Catholic heart of Europe, between faith, culture and identity.
But the focus is mainly on United States, his homelandwhere the Pope could return as early as this year, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the birth of the nation. Washington and New York are obligatory stops, but the journey could include Baltimore, Chicago – his city – and California, up to San Diego, a crossroads of worlds and migrations. In parallel, the connection with Peru remains stronghis other homeland, with a return to Chiclayo and perhaps a big South American tour that also touches on Argentina And Uruguay. A 2026 that is therefore very intense (it is more likely that these trips will be spread over several years), and which demonstrates the Pontiff’s ambitious objective of spreading the word of Christ throughout the world.
