The Holy Father will ultimately spend several days in Cameroon before heading on to Angola and then Equatorial Guinea during his first apostolic journey to Africa.
Pope Leo XIV departs Bamenda, Cameroon, after celebrating Mass at the regional airport on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV spent his first full day in Cameroon on April 16 meeting with local Catholics and other officials, hosting a meeting for peace and saying Mass in the central African country.
The Holy Father will ultimately spend several days in Cameroon before heading on to Angola and then Equatorial Guinea during his first apostolic journey to Africa. The trip is scheduled to last through April 23.
Here is a look at the popeʼs activities in Cameroon:
Crowds greet Pope Leo XIV upon his arrival at Yaoundé-Nsimalen International Airport in Cameroon on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Crowds greet Pope Leo XIV as he rides through Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV waves outside of St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds at St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, during a peace meeting on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV leads a meeting for peace and reconciliation at St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV prays in adoration before the Eucharist in the Holy Sacrament Chapel of St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV leads a peace meeting at St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV releases a dove outside of St. Joseph Cathedral in Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV processes during Mass at Bamenda Airport in Cameroon on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Hundreds of Catholics pray at the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV at Bamenda Airport in Cameroon on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV elevates the Eucharist during the papal Mass at Bamenda Airport in Cameroon on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV greets Catholics at Bamenda Airport in Cameroon on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds while departing Bamenda, Cameroon, on Thursday, April 16, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media
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Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap., was the main celebrant of a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for synod participants on Oct. 13. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 13, 2023 / 08:06 am (CNA).
The devil is launching attacks to divi… […]
Pope Leo XIV uses a tablet to navigate the website of the new digital version of the Vatican’s Pontifical Yearbook, known as the “Annuario Pontificio” in Italian. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 10, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
The Vatican this week launched the first-ever digital version of its annual directory, creating an easier way to find reliable and up-to-date information about the Church’s structures and members all around the world.
The red-covered Pontifical Yearbook — known in Italian as the “Annuario Pontificio” — is an important reference updated every year with Church statistics, the names and contacts of bishops, information about the departments of the Holy See, and more.
The Pontifical Yearbook, in its current form, started in the early 20th century, though other versions of a book with information about the Catholic hierarchy and the Roman Curia can be traced to the 18th century or earlier.
The 2025 edition of the Annuario Pontificio, also called the Pontifical Yearbook. Credit: EWTN News.
The biggest benefits to users are the ability to easily search for information and the possibility for updates to be reflected in real time.
Before now, to keep the directory current, one would have to cut out and glue periodic updates from the Vatican into the hardback book.
The directory includes global data that is frequently changing, including statistics about Catholic dioceses and missions, and information about bishops, the members of the Church, the number of priests and religious, and the Holy See’s diplomatic representation.
It also contains information about the pope and cardinals, and lists the people who lead the many different entities that make up the Roman Curia and the Vatican.
Screenshot of the homepage of the digital version of the Pontifical Yearbook.
On Dec. 8, the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, which is responsible for publishing the Pontifical Yearbook, unveiled the digital version, available in both web and app versions for an annual subscription of 68,10 euros ($79.20), around the same price as a printed version.
The Vatican said in time it intends to offer the directory in languages other than Italian, “making it more accessible to a growing number of users around the world.”
At a presentation of the project, Pope Leo XIV had a chance to receive a first lesson in how the digital yearbook works. He thanked those involved, calling it “a wonderful service which will be of great help.”
Africans are blessed with a lively faith. The men and women from the continent of Africa have the potential to evangelize the hungry seekers of spiritual joy in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
By 
Africans are blessed with a lively faith. The men and women from the continent of Africa have the potential to evangelize the hungry seekers of spiritual joy in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.