Leo IV will become the first pope to visit Muslim Algeria

Leo XIV will become the first pope to visit Algeria on Monday taking a message of dialogue with Islam on a trip that also represents a personal pilgrimage for the American pontiffAlgeria is the first stop on an 11day tour of four African nations covering 18000 kilometres and also taking in Cameroon Angola and Equatorial Guinea from April 13 to 23No other pontiff has visited Algeria a North African country where Islam is the state religion and the 70yearolds arrival is being eagerly awaited by the Catholic minorityThe visit also holds a strong personal dimension for Pope Leo as modernday Algeria was home to Saint Augustine 354430 a great Christian theologian whose spiritual legacy permeates his pontificateAs the world watches anxiously with war raging in the Middle East peaceful coexistence will be at the heart of the popes message in a country where 99 percent of its 47 million inhabitants are MuslimVatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the popes aim was to address the Islamic world but also to confront a common challenge of coexistenceAlgerias constitution guarantees freedom of worship although the authorities must approve both the place of worship and the preacherYet human rights groups say the repression of religious minorities has continued in Algeria in recent yearsThree organisations Human Rights Watch EuroMed Rights and MENA Rights Group issued a joint letter last week calling on the pontiff to push the issue during his visitSoft powerThe trip has been hailed in the local press for its symbolic and historical significance extending far beyond Algerias 9000 CatholicsFor the government daily El Moudjahid it is a symbol of Algerian soft power that reflects the countrys stability its role as a regional mediator and its capacity to engage in dialogue with global actors the newspaper statedIn Algiers Monday morning Pope Leo will meet with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and deliver a speech to the authorities and the diplomatic corpsNo public appearances are planned in the capital and the famous popemobile the white vehicle pontiffs use to drive past crowds of the faithful will remain at the airport according to the Casbah Tribune news siteIn the afternoon the pope will visit the Great Mosque of Algiers one of the largest mosques in the world and also meet with the Catholic communityLeo will also pray privately in the chapel dedicated to 19 priests and nuns murdered during the dark decade of civil war 19922002However he will not visit the Tibhirine monastery whose monks were kidnapped and murdered in 1996 an event still shrouded in mysterySon of St AugustineThe most symbolic stop for the pope will be on Tuesday with a trip to the eastern city of Annaba the onetime home of Saint Augustine where Leo will hold a massFrom the moment he became pope on May 8 2025 following the death of Pope Francis Leo has presented himself as a son of the famed theologianThe former Robert Francis Prevost is a member of the Augustinian order which was founded in the 13th century and is based on the ideals of communal living and sharingFather Fred Wekesa rector of the Saint Augustine Basilica at Annaba said Leos visit was a deeply significant moment that would give his small flock a message of encouragement and solidarityAll too often some people view this country only through the lens of the dark years he added alluding to the countrys bloody civil war from 1992 to 2002 when 200000 people were killed in the conflict between Islamists and security forcesWith the Holy Fathers visit the whole world will see the hospitality and generosity of the Algerian people said WekesaWe are capable of living together in peaceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever