Pope expresses regret over Catholic Church's historical stance on legitimizing the slave trade

Pope Leo XIV met with bishops at the Parish of our Lady of Fatima in Luanda on April 20, 2026, during the eighth day of his 11-day apostolic journey to Africa.

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On this occasion, he issued a historic apology for the Vatican's role in justifying slavery, characterizing the delay in condemning the practice as "a wound in Christian memory".

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Pope Leo XIV acknowledged that church institutions had owned slaves until the Middle Ages, and that the Apostolic See of Rome had intervened to regulate and legitimise forms of subjugation in the early modern period.

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In his major text, "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity), he noted that the Vatican had responded to requests from sovereigns to legitimise the enslavement of "infidels" on several occasions.

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According to Pope Leo XIV, it was not until the 19th century that the church clearly articulated a formal, absolute, and universal condemnation of slavery.

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He expressed remorse on behalf of the church, saying "For this, in the name of the church, I sincerely ask for pardon".

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Previous popes, including John Paul II, had apologised for the involvement of Christians in the slave trade, with John Paul II denouncing it in 1992 and issuing a request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000.

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Pope Francis had also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery, but Pope Leo XIV's words marked a new milestone by acknowledging the Vatican's direct involvement in legitimising slavery.

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Pope Leo XIV recognised that past events cannot be judged by modern moral standards, but also stated that the delay in denouncing slavery constitutes "a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached".