Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday inaugurated the largest academic facility in Equatorial Guinea, the León XIV Campus of the National University of Equatorial Guinea (UNGE) in Basupú, on the northern part of Bioko Island, during the final stop of his apostolic journey across Africa.
The government dedicated the campus to the pontiff in conjunction with his visit. He was welcomed by Rector Filiberto Ntutumu Nguema Nchama and Archbishop Juan Nsue Edjang Mayé of Malabo, before a bust of the pope was unveiled and he met with students and professors gathered at the main entrance.
In his address, Pope Leo XIV described the inauguration as something far greater than an expansion of physical infrastructure. He stressed that opening a university campus is an act of trust in human beings and an affirmation that it is worth investing in the formation of new generations and in the pursuit of truth placed at the service of the common good.
Drawing on an image central to Equatorial Guinean identity, the ceiba, the country’s national tree, the pope described it as a parable for what a university is called to be: an institution rooted in serious study, living memory, and a persevering search for truth.
He also said the university measures itself by the quality of the people it forms for society rather than by the size of its graduating classes or the scale of its buildings.
Students at the ceremony called on the pope to encourage them in becoming a generation defined by discipline, respect, responsibility, and commitment to the common good, aimed not only at personal success but at the broader development of Equatorial Guinea. Faculty members pledged themselves to academic excellence, innovation, and the comprehensive formation of students.
The Equatorial Guinea stop capped Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic journey to Africa, during which he visited Algeria, Cameroon, and Angola before arriving in Malabo. UNGE was founded in 1995 to help form national leaders and align academic and professional training with the country’s development needs.
