ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Pope Leo XIV kicked off his historic visit to Algeria by making a passionate appeal for global peace and condemning “neocolonial tendencies” in international relations. His arrival comes as he faces sharp criticism from President Donald Trump regarding his stance on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Leo’s visit inaugurates an 11-day tour spanning four African countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. This journey will immerse the first U.S.-born pontiff in the vibrant and expanding center of the Catholic Church.
Leo’s mission in Algeria is twofold: fostering Christian-Muslim harmony in a predominantly Muslim nation amid global unrest, and paying tribute to St. Augustine, the local spiritual luminary who inspired his religious path.
The tour’s start is overshadowed by escalating tensions between Leo and Trump over the Iran conflict. Trump recently questioned Leo’s effectiveness as pope, urging him to “stop catering to the Radical Left.”
Leo answered by reaffirming that his calls for peace and reconciliation are grounded in the Gospel, asserting he is not intimidated by the Trump administration.
‘Neocolonial Tendencies’
In his opening speech in Algiers, Leo linked his plea for peace to Algeria’s fight for independence from France in 1962, a struggle marked by immense loss of life and severe human rights abuses.
“God desires peace for every nation, a peace that is not merely an absence of conflict but one that is an expression of justice and dignity,” Leo proclaimed to thousands gathered at Algeria’s martyrs’ monument.
Later, in discussions with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and government leaders, Leo commended Algerians for their unity and mutual respect, suggesting these qualities provide valuable insight into today’s “global balance of power.”
“This is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,” Leo emphasized, alluding to ongoing conflicts such as Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Iran war, and Israel’s incursion into southern Lebanon.
Visit to the Great Mosque
The pope’s visit dominated headlines in Algeria, where the Catholic community numbers just 9,000 — mostly foreigners — amid a Sunni Muslim majority of roughly 47 million.
The state-run paper El Moudjahid declared, “the planet is staring at Algeria,” and Echorouk, an Arabic daily, stated, “the land of peace and coexistence speaks to the world.”
Leo visited the Great Mosque, standing silently in prayer and expressing gratitude to the mosque rector for welcoming him into this sacred space, which also serves as a center for study.
“Through this place of prayer and pursuit of truth — through study and recognizing the dignity of every person — we can learn to respect each other, live in harmony, and create a world of peace,” Leo stated in Italian, departing from his prepared remarks.
President Tebboune celebrated the pope’s historic visit and highlighted Algerian pride in St. Augustine, “a cherished son of this land.”
Yet, some residents minimized the visit’s importance.
“God’s religion is Islam, which has illuminated this land for 14 centuries,” remarked Lamia Sellimi, a high school literature teacher near the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa. “Algerians are deeply attached to their religion, a cornerstone of our identity. This visit is merely a circumstantial event.”
Algeria’s Violent Past and Martyrs
In the 1990s, Algeria endured a brutal civil war known as the “black decade,” claiming around 250,000 lives as government forces battled Islamist insurgents. Among the victims were 19 Catholics, including seven Trappist monks from the Tibhirine monastery and two nuns from Leo’s Augustinian order, all killed by Islamic militants in 1996.
These 19 were beatified in 2018 as martyrs, marking the first such ceremony in the Muslim world.
Leo honored these martyrs and visited Augustinian nuns who operate a charitable project from the Algiers Basilica, serving people of all faiths.
The Algiers archbishop often notes that Leo was elected on May 8 , the Catholic feast day of the 19 martyrs. Following Leo’s election, Vesco immediately invited him to visit Algeria.
Leo has repeatedly cited the words of Christian de Chergé, the martyred prior of Tibhirine, who spoke of “unarmed and disarming peace”—a phrase Leo has embraced since the night of his election.
Personal and Pastoral Dimensions
Leo’s Augustinian order draws inspiration from St. Augustine of Hippo , the fifth-century philosopher and theologian who was born and lived almost his entire life in present-day Algeria.
On Tuesday, Leo will journey to Annaba, the modern site of ancient Hippo, where Augustine served as bishop for thirty years, retracing the saint’s footsteps.
From his initial address as pope, Leo has declared himself a “son of St. Augustine,” regularly referencing the church father in his teachings and homilies.
“I don’t know if I have seen a statement, a homily, an apostolic letter or exhortation that doesn’t reference Augustine,” said Paul Camacho, associate director of the Augustinian Institute at Villanova University, Leo’s alma mater. “The shadow that he casts on Western thought, not just the Roman Catholic Church but on Western thought more broadly, is very, very long indeed.”
(Photo credit: REUTERS/REMO CASILLI)
