African Church leaders hail election of Pope Leo as sign of hope for peace

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – Catholic leaders across Africa are expressing excitement at the election of the first American as Pope.

Far from being disappointed that the 267th leader of the Catholic Church would again not be an African, bishops across the continent have told Crux that Pope Leo XIV promises to be exactly the kind of pope the Church needs.

Responding from Dakar in Senegal, where he is attending a meeting of the Episcopal Conferences of West Africa, Nigerian Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Abuja Archdiocese said he was “excited that we have a new pope, and a well-chosen pope at that.”