KILAMBA — Pope Leo XIV addressed tens of thousands of faithful at an open-air Mass in Kilamba, near Angola's capital, on Sunday, urging the country to overcome divisions and corruption. He said Angola's civil war-scarred past had brought enmity and division, squandered resources, and poverty.

"Today, there is a need to look to the future with hope and to build that hope. Do not be afraid to do so." Pope Leo XIV said. Angola endured a decades-long civil war that ended in 2002.

The pope arrived in Angola on Saturday for the third leg of a four-nation tour of the continent. The tour began in Algeria and Cameroon and will also include a stop in Equatorial Guinea. During the eleven-day trip, the first United States-born pope has delivered warnings against corruption and the plunder of Africa's resources.

Many people attending the Mass in Kilamba arrived early in the morning in anticipation. "The pope coming here is a joy. We are living in a moment of a lot of difficulties, and we are waiting for the blessing of the pope." Sister Christina Matende said. Catholic lawyer Domingos das Neves said the pope's focus on social justice was welcome in Angola, which is struggling with stark social asymmetries and inequalities.

From Kilamba, Pope Leo XIV is to travel 110km by helicopter to the town of Muxima, Angola's most venerated pilgrimage site. The town has a 300-year-old church overlooking a river that was once a major slave-trading route, and houses a statue of the Virgin Mary known affectionately as "Mama Muxima." The church draws roughly two million pilgrims a year, and large crowds are expected to meet the pope there.

The pope is due to travel more than 800km from Luanda to visit a retirement home in Saurimo, where he will celebrate another Mass before departing for Equatorial Guinea.