Pope Leo XIV begins historic visit to Algeria
The trip has a strong personal dimension for the pope, who will walk in the footsteps of St. Augustine, a great Christian thinker of the fourth century whose spiritual legacy permeates his pontificate.
Pope Leo XIV in Algeria
Algeria welcomed Pope Leo XIV on Monday in a historic visit of great symbolism: never before had a pope traveled to this Muslim country which is also the homeland of St. Augustine.
Leo XIV will spend two days in Algeria "to continue building bridges between the Christian world and the Muslim world," the archbishop of Algiers, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, told AFP.
In Algiers, the pope was received with honors and in the rain by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. When he left the plane, a cannon salute was fired.
In the Algerian capital, before the monument to the martyrs where tribute is paid to those who died in the war of independence against France (1954-1962), the pope made a call for "forgiveness."
In his vision, the peace that makes it possible to look to the future with a reconciled spirit is only possible through forgiveness.
Politics
Trump lashes out harshly at Pope Leo XIV for his stance on Iran and pontiff says he has "no intention to debate" with him
Luis Francisco Orozco
The trip has a strong personal dimension for the pope, who will walk in the footsteps of St. Augustine, a great Christian thinker of the fourth century whose spiritual legacy permeates his pontificate.
"I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon"
In a tense international context due to the war in the Middle East, peaceful coexistence will focus the pope's message in this country of 47 million people, where Sunni Islam is the official religion.
His recent anti-war speech earned him invective Sunday night from U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a Country that was sending massive amounts of Drugs into the United States and, even worse, emptying their prisons, including murderers, drug dealers, and killers, into our Country. And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected IN A LANDSLIDE, to do..." Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
">Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy. He talks about “fear” of the Trump Administration, but doesn’t mention the FEAR that the Catholic Church, and all other Christian Organizations, had during COVID when they were arresting priests, ministers, and everybody…
— Commentary: Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) April 13, 2026
On his side, the top leader of the Catholic Church told reporters accompanying him on the trip that he had no "intention of getting into a debate" with Trump, alleging that he is "not a politician."
The pope's agenda
In the afternoon, he will visit the Great Mosque, a monumental complex with the world's tallest minaret (267 meters), before heading to the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, which overlooks the Bay of Algiers.
During an inter-religious celebration that will bring together Christians and Muslims, the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholics will call for fraternity in this country, where Catholics represent less than 0.01% of the population.
The trip marks the start of the first major international tour of the 70-year-old pope, who will also go to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, an 18,000-kilometer marathon with an intense agenda from April 13 to 23.
On Monday, Leo XIV will pray privately at the chapel of the 19 "martyrs of Algeria," priests and religious killed during the black decade of the civil war (1992-2002), a symbol of the price paid by religious committed to dialogue with Islam.
In the most personal pilgrimage, the pope will travel on Tuesday to Annaba (east), near the border with Tunisia, the ancient Hippo, of which St. Augustine was bishop.
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