Amidst the tropical heat of Saurimo, Pope Leo XIV used his final hours in Angola to slam the ‘logic of exploitation’ that leaves millions in poverty despite the nation’s immense diamond wealth.

His visit includes a trip to a shrine where enslaved Africans were baptized before being forced into the treacherous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean.

Pope Leo XIV has challenged Angola's leaders to “break the cycles of interests” that have plundered and exploited Africa for centuries. Leo issued the message after arriving in Angola on

Since his election last May, Pope Leo XIV has hammered home the theme of unity. But nowhere has that message taken on sharper contours than in Angola, where the long shadow of civil war and stark inequality continues to fracture the nation.

Pope Leo XIV heads to Angola's remote and diamond-rich northeast on Monday in the latest stop on an Africa tour during which he has spoken out against the country's glaring

"Mama Muxima is our heart. Mama Muxima is the first Lady that we go to, we call her, we ask for her intercession."

Pope Leo XIV traveled to the heart of Angola’s diamond country April 20, urging the tens of thousands gathered at the papal Mass in the country’s northeast to trust that “Christ hears the cry of the people” in the face of evil.