Rome, 17 March-(ANA)-Pope Benedict XVI has set off on a week-long trip to Africa, his first visit to the continent as pontiff.
He is scheduled to visit Cameroon and Angola, where thousands are expected to attend open-air masses.
Pope Benedict said on Sunday he wanted to wrap his arms around the entire continent, with "its painful wounds, its enormous potential and hopes".
According to Vatican figures, the number of Catholics in Africa has been rising steadily in recent years.
Baptised Catholics made up 17% of the African population in 2006, compared with 12% in 1978, the Vatican says.
The Pope will stay in Yaounde until Friday, where he will meet bishops from all over Africa who will be taking part in a meeting at the Vatican later this year to discuss the Church's role in Africa.
In Angola, which is still recovering from 27 years of civil war, Pope Benedict will meet diplomats posted in Luanda and is expected to urge the international community not to abandon Africa.
He is expected to talk to young people about the Aids epidemic in Africa and explain why the Catholic Church recommends sexual abstinence rather than the use of condoms as the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.
Speaking to pilgrims in St Peter's Square before setting out on his journey, the Pope said he wanted to reach out to the victims of hunger, disease, injustice, fratricidal conflicts and the violence afflicting adults and children alike in most parts of Africa. (ANA)
Amnesty/Report