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Anticipation is building as the Vatican forecasts a gathering of 600,000 people for a significant liturgical event, marking the largest congregation Pope Leo XIV is expected to address during his ambitious 11-day journey across four African nations.
Currently, in the heart of his African pilgrimage, Pope Leo XIV’s itinerary on Friday was dedicated to uplifting the youth of Cameroon. The pontiff’s schedule included a prominent Mass, followed by an engaging visit to Cameroon’s Catholic University, underlining the importance of education and faith among the continent’s young minds.
Friday also saw Pope Leo traveling to Douala, Cameroon’s bustling port city, where he presided over a Mass and made an important visit to a local hospital. This gathering is anticipated to be the largest during his journey, which marks the first time an American pope has undertaken such a mission in Africa.
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Later in the day, back in the capital city of Yaoundé, Pope Leo engaged with students, faculty, and administrators at the Catholic University of Central Africa. Historically, such meetings have been vital for popes to inspire youth in developing regions, urging them to stand resilient against challenges like poverty and corruption.
Later Friday in the capital Youande, Leo had an appointment with students, professors and administrators at the Catholic University of Central Africa. Popes have often used such encounters, especially in the developing world, to rally young people to persevere in the face of poverty, corruption and other challenges.
Catholics represent about 29% of Cameroon’s 29 million people. It is an overwhelmingly young country, where the median age is 18.
An attention to young people
Leo has already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including in his opening speech to President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest leader. In the speech, Leo demanded the “chains of corruption” in Cameroon be broken and said Cameroon’s youth represent the future and hope of the country.
But with Biya in power since 1982, Cameroon perhaps represents the most dramatic example of the tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders.
Despite being an oil-producing country experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites.
“Of course, when unemployment and social exclusion persist, frustration can lead to violence,” Leo warned in his opening address to Biya and government authorities earlier this week. “Investing in the education, training, and entrepreneurship of young people is, therefore, a strategic choice for peace. It is the only way to curb the outflow of wonderful talent to other parts of the world.”
According to World Bank data, the unemployment rate in Cameroon stands at 3.5%, but 57% of the labor force aged 18 to 35 works in informal employment.
The dire economic outlook in Cameroon has led to significant brain drain and has strained an already understaffed health sector, as many doctors and nurses are leaving the country for more lucrative jobs in Europe and North America.
In 2023, about a third of trained doctors who graduate from medical school in Cameroon leave the country, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.
Growing frustration over Biya’s record and long-term rule intensified during last October’s tense presidential election, in which Biya secured an eighth consecutive term.
When Cameroon’s main opposition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, contested the result of the poll, deadly protests erupted throughout the country.
Mark Banchereau contributed from Dakar, Senegal.
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