(ANS – Algiers) – Peter returns to Africa. Three years after Pope Francis’ visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congoand South Sudan in early 2023, Pope Leo XIV is embarking on a long pilgrimage across the African continent, with his first stop in Algeria—the land of Saint Augustine, of whom he is a spiritual son—and which will then take him to Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. It is an 11-day journey that Pope Leo had wished to undertake as the first of his pontificate, and it is distinctly missionary in nature, marked by a full schedule of meetings with the peoples of a continent characterized by challenges and contradictions, yet rich in joy and hope.
One cannot ignore the “dramatic hour in history” in which this visit takes place, with growing concern over developments in the Middle East and the threat of renewed conflict following the failure of U.S.–Iran negotiations in Pakistan. It is significant that peace emerges as the central theme in Leo XIV’s first address in Algeria, during his visit to the Monument to the Martyrs of Independence, Maqam Echahid: “In this place we recall that God desires peace for every nation: a peace that is not merely the absence of conflict, but an expression of justice and dignity. And this peace, which allows us to face the future with a reconciled spirit, is possible only through forgiveness. The true struggle for liberation will be definitively won only when the peace of hearts has finally been achieved.”
He reiterated this message during the flight to the North African country when, in response to journalists’ questions about criticism leveled at him by the U.S. president, the Pope replied: “I continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, fostering dialogue and multilateralism with states to find solutions to problems. Too many people are suffering today, too many innocents have been killed, and I believe that someone must stand up and say that there is a better way.”
He repeated the same message before Algerian authorities, representatives of civil society, and the diplomatic corps gathered at the Djamaa el Djazair Conference Center, opening his address with these words: “I come to you as a witness to the peace and hope that the world so ardently desires and that your people have always sought.” That peace, to be genuine, must incorporate higher values—which the Pontiff recognized in the Algerian people—such as generosity and compassion, understood as the fruits of true justice and authentic religiosity.
In the context of a country with an overwhelming Islamic majority, the Holy Father reflected on the opposing tendencies—fundamentalism and secularization—that can arise from tensions between religious sentiment and modern life, and called for the promotion of understanding and dialogue: “We must educate people in critical thinking and freedom, in listening and dialogue, in the trust that enables us to recognize in those who are different a fellow traveler, not a threat.”
Dialogue, respect, mutual understanding, and fraternity were themes addressed again later by Pope Leo XIV in the early afternoon, despite pouring rain, when he visited the Great Mosque of the Algerian capital. After pausing in silent prayer beneath the great dome, in his conversation with the Rector, Mohamed Mamoun Al Qasimi, the Pope observed that “to seek God is also to recognize the image of God in every creature, a child of God, in every man and woman created in the image and likeness of God.” Therefore, it is important “to learn to live together with respect for the dignity of every human person.”
Pope Leo also praised the establishment of a study center within the mosque, noting that “it is important for human beings to develop the intellectual capacity that God has given,” in order to “discover the greatness of creation,” and because “through the search for truth,” “through study,” and “with the ability to recognize the dignity of every human being,” we may “learn to respect one another, live in harmony, and build a world of peace.”
On the first day of the Pope’s visit to Algeria, there was also time for a private visit to Bab El Oued, at the Center of Welcome and Friendship run by the Augustinian Missionary Sisters, to pay tribute to the Augustinians killed during the civil war.
Finally, the Pope met with the small Algerian Christian community at the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, a place of devotion also for Muslim faithful.
“You are also heirs to an even older tradition, dating back to the early centuries of Christianity,” the Holy Father recalled, before pointing out three fundamental paths of Christian life: prayer, as a dialogue with God, following the example of Saint Charles de Foucauld; charity, as witnessed by the martyr of Tibhirine, Brother Luc; and once again the commitment to promoting peace and unity. Pope Leo XIV concluded with a powerful image: “A considerable part of this country’s territory is occupied by the desert, and in the desert one cannot survive alone. The harshness of nature puts any presumption of self-sufficiency into perspective and reminds us that we need one another—and that we need God. It is the recognition of our fragility that opens the heart to mutual support and to invoking Him who can grant what no human power can guarantee: the profound reconciliation of hearts and, with it, true peace.”