At his final Mass in Africa, Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to proclaim the Gospel with passion and bear witness through their lives to \u201cthe faith that saves.\u201d<\/p>\n
MALABO, Equatorial Guinea \u2014 Pope Leo XIV celebrated the final Mass of his Africa trip on Thursday, urging the Church in Equatorial Guinea to continue proclaiming the Gospel \u201cwith passion\u201d and to bear witness through lives shaped by faith, service, and solidarity.<\/p>\n
The Mass at Malabo\u2019s stadium, where about 30,000 faithful were expected, marked the pope\u2019s last major public event in Equatorial Guinea, the fourth and final African nation on his 11-day journey.<\/p>\n
After riding through the crowd in the popemobile, Leo began Mass amid flags, songs, and colorful hats, with music and dance accompanying the liturgy.<\/p>\n
Before delivering his homily, the pope greeted the Archdiocese of Malabo and offered condolences for the recent death of its vicar general, Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, who died unexpectedly April 17 at age 39.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remember him in this Eucharist,\u201d Leo said. \u201cI invite you to live this moment of sorrow with a spirit of faith, and I trust that full light will be shed on the circumstances of his death.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his homily, preached in Spanish, the pope reflected on the day\u2019s Scripture readings, especially the account in the Acts of the Apostles of the deacon Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the deacon Philip approached a traveler who was returning from Jerusalem to Africa, he asked, \u2018Do you understand what you are reading?\u2019\u201d the pope said. \u201cThe pilgrim, a eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia, replied immediately with humble wisdom: \u2018How can I, unless someone guides me?\u2019 His question is not only a search for truth, but also an expression of openness and desire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo said the figure of the eunuch reveals both human suffering and the liberating power of the Gospel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYet, as he returns to his homeland of Africa, which for him has become a place of servitude, the proclamation of the Gospel sets him free,\u201d the pope said. \u201cThrough his encounter with Philip, a witness of the crucified and risen Christ, the eunuch is transformed from a mere reader \u2014 a spectator \u2014 of Scripture into a protagonist in the very story that captivates him, because it now concerns him personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis African man thus enters into Scripture, which welcomes every reader who seeks to understand God\u2019s word,\u201d Leo continued. \u201cHe steps into salvation history, which embraces every man and woman, especially the oppressed, the marginalized and the least among us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pope said Christians today, like the Ethiopian eunuch, read Scripture not in isolation but within the life of the Church.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether we read Scripture as the shared heritage of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, who inspired its composition, and by Apostolic Tradition, which has preserved and transmitted it throughout the world,\u201d he said. \u201cLike the eunuch, we too can come to understand the Word of God with the help of a guide who accompanies us on our journey of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to the Gospel of John and Jesus\u2019 teaching on the bread of life, Leo said Christ fulfills God\u2019s saving work in history and leads every people out of slavery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Jesus\u2019 Passover, the definitive exodus, every people is set free from the slavery of evil,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The pope also stressed that Christian faith does not erase suffering but illuminates it with hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur problems do not disappear in the Lord\u2019s presence, but they are illuminated,\u201d he said. \u201cJust as every cross finds redemption in Jesus, so too the story of our lives finds its meaning in the Gospel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quoting Pope Francis\u2019 Evangelii Gaudium, Leo warned against spiritual self-absorption and called the faithful to keep making room for the poor, for God\u2019s voice, and for the quiet joy of his love. He said it is precisely the Lord\u2019s love that sustains Christians in the service of justice and solidarity.<\/p>\n
He concluded by encouraging the local Church to continue its evangelical mission with joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this reason, I encourage all of you, as the living Church in Equatorial Guinea, to carry on the mission of Jesus\u2019 first disciples with joy,\u201d Leo said. \u201cAs you read the Gospel together, proclaim it with passion, just as the deacon Philip did. And as you celebrate the Eucharist together, bear witness through your lives to the faith that saves, so that God\u2019s word may become good leaven for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronica Giacometti contributed to this article. This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n