More than half a million people expected at Pope Leo XIV's Mass in Cameroon

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Pope Leo XIV was marking the halfway constituent successful his four-nation circuit of Africa Friday with a time focused connected encouraging Cameroon’s young people, archetypal with the large Mass and past a sojourn to the country’s Catholic university.

Leo was travelling Friday to Douala, Cameroon’s main larboard city, to observe Mass and sojourn a hospital. The Vatican predicted immoderate 600,000 radical would crook retired for the liturgy, the biggest assemblage Leo is expected to gully connected his 11-day odyssey, the archetypal to Africa by history's archetypal American pope.

Later Friday, Leo has an assignment backmost successful the superior Youande with students, professors and administrators astatine the Catholic University of Central Africa. Popes person often utilized specified encounters, particularly successful the processing world, to rally young radical to persevere successful the look of poverty, corruption and different challenges.

Catholics correspond astir 29% of Cameroon's 29 cardinal people. It is an overwhelmingly young country, wherever the median property is 18.

Attention to young people

Leo has already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including successful his opening code to President Paul Biya, astatine 93 the world’s oldest leader. In the speech, Leo demanded the “chains of corruption” successful Cameroon beryllium breached and said Cameroon’s younker correspond the aboriginal and anticipation of the country.

But with Biya successful powerfulness since 1982, Cameroon possibly represents the astir melodramatic illustration of the hostility betwixt Africa’s younker and the continent’s galore aging leaders.

Despite being an oil-producing state experiencing humble economical growth, young radical accidental the benefits person not trickled down beyond the elites.

“Of course, erstwhile unemployment and societal exclusion persist, vexation tin pb to violence," Leo warned successful his opening code to Biya and authorities authorities earlier this week. "Investing successful the education, training, and entrepreneurship of young radical is, therefore, a strategical prime for peace. It is the lone mode to curb the outflow of fantastic endowment to different parts of the world.”

According to World Bank data, the unemployment complaint successful Cameroon stands astatine 3.5%, but 57% of the labour unit aged 18 to 35 works successful informal employment.

The dire economical outlook successful Cameroon has led to important encephalon drain and has strained an already understaffed wellness sector, arsenic galore doctors and nurses are leaving the state for much lucrative jobs successful Europe and North America.

In 2023, astir a 3rd of doctors who graduated from aesculapian schoolhouse successful Cameroon near the country, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.

Growing vexation implicit Biya’s grounds and semipermanent regularisation intensified during past October’s tense statesmanlike election, successful which Biya secured an eighth consecutive term.

When Cameroon’s main absorption candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, contested the effect of the poll, deadly protests erupted passim the country.

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Mark Banchereau contributed from Dakar, Senegal.

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