São Paulo – Pope Leo XIV began his 11-day trip to Africa in Algeria this Monday (13) with a greeting in Arabic: “As-salamu alaykom! (Peace be upon you!)”. He then delivered his speech at the foot of the Martyrs’ Memorial (Maqam Echahid), in the capital, Algiers, greeting the Algerian people as “a brother who stands before you” and praising their hospitality and fraternity. According to Vatican News, Leo XIV dedicated his first messages in the country to peace and the fight against social exclusion.
“A people who love God possess the truest wealth, and the Algerian people preserve this jewel in their treasure. Our world needs faithful people like this—men and women of faith, thirsty for justice and unity,” he said. Leo XIV also recalled the conflicts spreading around the world and said that one must not add “resentment to resentment.” “The future belongs to men and women of peace. In the end, justice will always triumph over injustice, and violence, despite appearances, will never have the last word,” he said.
He was then received in a private meeting by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and went on to the Djamaa el Djazair Congress – the Great Mosque of Algiers. On that occasion, he recalled that he had already been to Annaba in 2001 and in 2013. The ancient city of Hippo, Annaba is where Saint Augustine lived. Leo XVI is Augustinian and will visit the city again, now as leader of the Catholic Church. During his visit to the mosque, he addressed compassion and inequality.
“A religion without compassion and a social life without solidarity are a scandal in the eyes of God. Yet many societies that consider themselves advanced are increasingly rushing into inequality and exclusion. People and organizations that dominate others—Africa knows this well—destroy the world that the Most High created for us to live in together,” he said.
The pope will have commitments in Algeria on Monday (13) and Tuesday (14). Between Wednesday (15) and Saturday (18), his schedule will be in Cameroon. Then, events in Angola, between April 18 and 20, and in Equatorial Guinea, between April 21 and 23, will complete the pontiff’s program. He assumed leadership of the Church in May 2025. On his first trip abroad as Catholic leader, Leo XIV visited Turkey and Lebanon between November and December last year.
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*Translated by A.I.
