It is now official! Pope Leo XIV will visit Cameroon during his ten-day Apostolic Journey to Africa. Cameroon is one of four countries the Head of the Roman Catholic Church will stop in during his first-ever visit to the continent as Pontiff from April 13 to 23.
Confirming the visit in an announcement on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea José Avelino Bettencourt said the Pope will make stops in Yaounde, Bamenda and Douala from April 15 to 18.
Cameroon had for weeks been rumoured as one of the possible destinations for the Pontiff. Even as the visit became imminent with authorities holding high-level meetings and taking measures to improve infrastructure including the rehabilitation of the Bamenda airport, it remained unofficial until Wednesday.
With the date now set, the local church and Cameroonians are enthusiastic and hope the Pope’s visit will contribute to bringing peace to the country that is plagued by multiple crises.
In addition to Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part and a refugee crisis in the East, Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West Regions have been gripped by a deadly armed conflict for nearly a decade now.
Over 6,500 people have been killed since an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers morphed into a bloody war between armed separatists and government troops in 2017, according to humanitarian groups.
Cameroonians, especially those in the conflict regions see in the Pope’s visit a glimmer of hope for return peace.
The Archbishop of Bamenda Andrew Nkea said the coming of the Holy Father to Cameroon is like “the rising sun coming to us from high. It is a very big moment for our local church and our country in general”.
Archbishop Nkea said besides coming as head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope is also coming like a peace messenger and apostle of reconciliation.
The Governor of the North West Region where Bamenda is the Headquarters, Adolphe Lele Lafrique added that they look up to the Pope as a man of peace.
“We hope his coming will contribute to the ongoing pacification process of the North West Region,” Governor Lele Lafrique said.
Pope Leo XIV will become the third pontiff to visit the Cameroon, following Pope St. John Paul II in August 1985 and September 1995, and Pope Benedict XVI in March 2009 — all under the same Cameroonian ruler, Paul Biya.
Besides Cameroon, Pope Leo is also scheduled to visit Algeria, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
