Maintaining hope: Equatorial Guinea waits for the Pope

Just north of the Equator, in the warm, volcano-studded waters of the Gulf of Guinea, lies the island of Bioko. Much of its surface is covered by mountains and tropical rainforest, but the island is also home to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea’s oldest city and, until January of this year, its capital.

Later today, Tuesday 21st April, Pope Leo XIV will arrive in the city, for the fourth and final leg of his Apostolic Journey across Africa. He will encounter a country which has, in many ways, undergone a total transformation since it last received a visit from a Pope in 1982 - due in large part to the discovery of large oil reserves in the mid 1990s.

Since then, the country has become, per capita, one of the richest in Africa. This newfound wealth is visible from the moment you arrive at Malabo’s hyper-sleek, modern airport, as well as elsewhere in the city, such as at the state university’s new Leo XIV campus, which has just been renamed in honour of the visiting Pope.