Pope Leo XIV delivers powerful homily at Malabo Stadium, linking the Ethiopian eunuch’s conversion to the Gospel’s liberating power and the Eucharist’s promise of eternal life.
Newsroom (23/04/2026 Gaudium Press) In a rain‑soaked stadium brimming with faithful under the open sky, Pope Leo XIV celebrated what he described as the concluding Eucharist of a 10‑day Apostolic Journey across Africa, drawing the faithful of Equatorial Guinea into a theological meditation on Scripture, sacrament, and mission. Addressing tens of thousands gathered in Malabo Stadium on Thursday, April 23, 2026, the pontiff framed the liturgy as both a solemn remembrance and a dynamic commissioning, weaving together the story of the Ethiopian eunuch with the Church’s ongoing vocation to read, live, and proclaim the Gospel.
The Holy Father began by acknowledging the grief reverberating through the Archdiocese of Malabo, offering “heartfelt condolences” for the sudden death of Father Fortunato Nsue Esono, the vicar general, just days before. With pastoral sensitivity, he invited the congregation to dwell in that sorrow with a spirit of faith, trusting that the circumstances of the priest’s passing would be clarified without succumbing to speculation or rash judgment. This moment of mourning, Leo XIV insisted, did not stand apart from the liturgy; rather, it became part of the “book of history” into which God continues to write, inviting the faithful to reread their own lives in light of Scripture.
Launching directly into the day’s readings, the Pope posed a question that underscored the heart of his homily: Do we truly know how to interpret Scripture? In doing so, he turned to the episode of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch traveling the road from Jerusalem to Africa (Acts 8:30–31). The pilgrim, wealthy and cultured, remains a slave whose body itself bears the mark of exclusion: as a eunuch, he cannot beget children, and his vitality is wholly placed “at the service of a power that controls and rules over him.” Yet, as he returns to a homeland that has become a place of servitude, the Gospel reaches him, and what he reads in Isaiah becomes a living reality. Through Philip’s witness to the crucified and risen Christ, the eunuch ceases to be a mere spectator of Scripture and enters salvation history as its protagonist, reborn in Baptism as a free child of God and brother to all.
Leo XIV emphasized that this model applies to every Christian: Baptism gives the same “light” of faith through which believers read the Word, ponder the prophets, pray the psalms, study the Law, and ultimately proclaim the Gospel through their lives. Scripture, the Pope explained, only reveals its true meaning within the context of faith, because it “was written and handed down to us through faith.” Thus, reading the Bible is never a solitary, mechanical exercise; it is always both a personal and an ecclesial act, guided by the Holy Spirit and the living stream of Apostolic Tradition. Just as Philip “began to speak, and starting with this scripture, proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus,” so too the Church today allows each reader to encounter the same Word that once fell into the hands of the Ethiopian pilgrim.
Linking this ancient text to the Paschal mystery, Leo XIV identified the “suffering servant” of Isaiah 53 as Jesus himself, whose passion, death, and resurrection overcome sin and death once and for all. It is in the Son, he recalled, that the Father is fully revealed; in Christ the Word becomes flesh, and every promise of God finds its yes. The pontiff then turned to the Bread of Life discourse in John 6, contrasting the manna of the Exodus with the Eucharist. The Israelites ate manna in the wilderness, but they still died; Jesus, the living Bread from heaven, offers his flesh so that those who eat of him may live forever. This sacrament, Leo XIV insisted, is the sign of the new and eternal covenant, the definitive Passover that liberates every people from the slavery of evil.
In language that soared at once theological and pastoral, the Pope asked the faithful to make a decisive choice: to believe in Christ or to remain in despair. Those who trust that God’s love is stronger than death are invited to rest in the astonishing truth that “God gives himself for us.” The manifold human hungers—for justice, for help, for life, for light—are answered in Jesus, whom the pontiff described echoing Saint Ambrose: “If you are oppressed by injustice, he is justice; if you are in need of help, he is strength; if you fear death, he is life; if you desire Heaven, he is the way; if you are in darkness, he is light.” Problems do not vanish in Christ’s presence, the Pope acknowledged, but they are illuminated; every cross finds redemption in Jesus, and each life finds its deepest meaning in the Gospel.
Returning to the theme of mission, Leo XIV urged the Church of Equatorial Guinea to carry on the work of the first disciples with joy, reading the Gospel together, proclaiming it with passion, and making the Eucharist the source of a visible witness. Quoting Pope Francis on the “joy of the Gospel,” he warned against the dangers of a complacent, covetous heart that grows dull in conscience and closes itself to the poor. In such moments, the Lord’s love becomes the sustaining force that renews the Church’s service of justice and solidarity. The sacrament, he concluded, is not merely a private consolation; it is “good leaven” that transforms communities, making the proclamation of salvation visible in action, service, and forgiveness.
Wrapping up the Mass, the pontiff turned to his farewell address, marking his departure from Equatorial Guinea and from Africa at the close of an 11‑day journey that carried him through Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and finally this small Central African nation. Expressing gratitude to the Archbishop, fellow bishops, priests, and the entire people of God, he reminded them that “Christ is the light of Equatorial Guinea, and you are salt of the earth and light of the world.” He also thanked the country’s civil authorities and all those who contributed to the visit’s success, before declaring that he leaves Africa with an “immeasurable treasure” of faith, hope, and charity—stories, faces, and testimonies that will enrich his ministry as Successor of Peter.
Drawing on the patrimony of the early Church, Leo XIV affirmed that Africa today is called to make a decisive contribution to the holiness and missionary character of the Christian people. Entrusting the faithful, their families, communities, nation, and the entire continent to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, he closed his African pilgrimage with a Marian commission: that the Church on this continent might continue to be a wellspring of saints, witnesses, and missionaries who carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican.va
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