Leo\u2019s arrival in Algiers marks the start of an\u00a011-day tour<\/a>\u00a0of four African nations \u2014 Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea \u2014 that will bring the first U.S.-born pope deep into the\u00a0growing heart of the Catholic Church.<\/a><\/p>\n Leo is in Algeria to promote Christian-Muslim coexistence in the majority Muslim nation at a time of global conflict, and to honor the locally born inspiration of his religious spirituality, St. Augustine.<\/p>\n The trip began, however, against the backdrop of a growing feud between the Leo and Trump over the Iran war. Trump overnight said he didn\u2019t think Leo was doing a good job as pope and suggested he should \u201cstop catering to the Radical Left.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo\u00a0responded<\/a>\u00a0by saying his appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he didn\u2019t fear the Trump administration.<\/p>\n In his first remarks in Algiers, Leo tied his current appeal for peace to the country\u2019s\u00a0struggle for independence<\/a>\u00a0from France, obtained in 1962. Hundreds of thousands of people died in the revolution during which French forces tortured detainees, disappeared suspects and devastated villages as part of a strategy to maintain a grip on power.<\/p>\n \u201cGod 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,\u201d Leo told a crowd of several thousand people at the monument to Algeria\u2019s martyrs.<\/p>\n At a later meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and other government authorities, Leo praised Algerians for their solidarity and respect for one another, which he said provided an important perspective today \u201con the global balance of power.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToday, this is more urgent than ever in the face of continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies,\u201d he said without elaborating, though he has previously spoken about Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine, the Iran war and Israel\u2019s\u00a0invasion<\/a>\u00a0of southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n Leo\u2019s visit dominated news headlines in Algeria, where a tiny Catholic community of around 9,000 people made up mostly of foreigners exists alongside the Sunni Muslim majority of about 47 million.<\/p>\n El Moudjahid, a state-run daily newspaper, declared that \u201cthe planet is staring at Algeria,\u201d while Arabic-language daily Echorouk wrote that \u201cthe land of peace and coexistence speaks to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Leo visited the country\u2019s Great Mosque and stood silently with his hands clasped in front of him, as if in prayer. He thanked the mosque rector for receiving him in this \u201cdivine space, space of God\u201d that is also a study center.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough this place of prayer, through the search for truth, including through study and through the ability to recognize the dignity of every human being, we know \u2014 and today\u2019s gathering is proof of this \u2014 that we can learn to respect one another, live in harmony, and build a world of peace,\u201d Leo said in Italian in a rare, off-the-cuff comment.<\/p>\n Tebboune hailed the historic nature of Leo\u2019s visit and the pride Algerians felt over St. Augustine, \u201ca cherished son of this land.\u201d<\/p>\n But others downplayed the significance of the visit.<\/p>\n \u201cGod\u2019s religion is Islam, which has illuminated this land for 14 centuries,\u201d said Lamia Sellimi, a literature teacher at a high school near the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa. \u201cAlgerians are deeply attached to their religion, which is one of the foundations of our identity. As such, this visit is merely a circumstantial event.\u201d<\/p>\n Algeria fought a civil war in the 1990s that is known locally as the \u201cblack decade,\u201d when around 250,000 people were killed as the army fought an Islamist insurgency. Among them were 19 Catholics, including seven Trappist monks from the\u00a0Tibhirine monastery south of Algiers,<\/a>\u00a0who were kidnapped and killed in 1996 by Islamic fighters. Also among them were two nuns from Leo\u2019s Augustinian religious family.<\/p>\n All 19 were beatified in 2018 as martyrs for the faith in what was then the first such beatification ceremony in the Muslim world.<\/p>\n Leo paid homage to the 19 martyrs and visited the remaining Augustinian nuns who run a social services project out of the Algiers basilica that helps people of all faiths.<\/p>\n The Algiers archbishop likes to remind audiences that Leo was\u00a0elected on May 8<\/a>, the Catholic feast day of the 19 martyrs. Immediately after Leo\u2019s election, Vesco invited him to visit.<\/p>\n Leo has also made a mantra out of one of the sayings of the martyred prior of the Tibherine monastery, Christian de Cherg\u00e9, who spoke of an \u201cunarmed and disarming peace.\u201d Leo has cited the line starting from the night of his election.<\/p>\n Personal and pastoral visit<\/p>\n![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Algeria_Africa_Pope_28554.jpg\")
Pope Leo XIV arrives at the El Mouradia Presidential Palace in Algiers, Monday, April 13, 2026, at the start of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (Luca Zennaro\/Pool Photo via AP)
\n\u2018Neocolonial tendencies\u2019<\/p>\n![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Algeria_Africa_Pope_27215.jpg\")
Pope Leo XIV addresses Algerian authorities, members of the civil society, and diplomatic corps at the Djamaa el Djazair Conference Center in Algiers, Monday, April 13, 2026, on the first day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)
\nGreat Mosque visit<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Algeria_Africa_Pope_5_723.jpg\")
People gather to watch Pope Leo XIV arriving at Maqam Echahid Martyrs\u2019 Monument in Algiers, Monday, April 13, 2026, on the first day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)
\nA violent past of martyrs<\/p>\n