Pope Leo prays at Angola shrine linked to slavery (VIDEO)

The pontiff urged thousands of worshipers to help build a world free from war and injustice during his visit to the African nation

Pope Leo has prayed at a historic Catholic shrine in Angola that is linked to the transatlantic slave trade, during the third leg of his first trip to Africa as pontiff.

Speaking at the Sanctuary of Mama Muxima on Sunday, the Pope said the Marian site held memories of “sorrow and great suffering” in Angola’s history, while also remaining a place where generations of believers have turned in moments of anguish and hope.

Founded by Portuguese colonizers in the late 16th century, the shrine became entwined with the slave trade, with enslaved Africans baptized there before being taken around 130 km to the capital, Luanda, and shipped across the Atlantic.

The pontiff did not directly address the Catholic Church’s role in legitimizing slavery during the colonial period, an issue that has remained a source of controversy despite the Vatican’s broader efforts in recent years to confront parts of its colonial legacy.

The sanctuary became a major pilgrimage site after believers reported an apparition of the Virgin Mary around 1833. The Vatican has described it as a center of devotion during some of the most difficult periods in Angola’s history, including colonial rule and the long civil war.

READ MORE: UN rights chief backs reparations for slavery

Pope Leo, whose ancestry includes both enslaved people and slave owners, prayed the Rosary at the shrine and urged the thousands gathered outside to help build a world free from war and injustice.

“It is love that must triumph, not war,” he said in Portuguese.

Highlights of the seventh day of Pope Leo XIV's Apostolic Journey to Africa, during which he celebrated Mass in Kilamba and prayed the Rosary in Muxima on his second day in Angola. pic.twitter.com/WrUVmMZ9Eu

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 19, 2026

The Angola stop forms part of the Pope’s 11-day tour of Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, which began on April 13.

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The pope did not directly mention slavery in his remarks in Angola. However, his visit to Muxima comes at a time of a renewed international push to address the legacy of slavery and colonialism. Last month, the UN General Assembly adopted a Ghana-led resolution, backed by the African Union and the Caribbean Community, declaring the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement the “gravest crime against humanity.”

The US voted against the resolution, saying it rejects any suggestion of a legal duty to provide reparations for historical wrongs that were not illegal under international law at the time. The UK abstained and has also opposed the demands.