Pope Leo XIV Begins Historic Africa Tour With Visit To Algeria

Pope Leo XIV embarked on a landmark 11-day Africa tour on April 13, becoming the first pope to visit Algeria.

“Pope Leo XIV has begun a landmark visit to Algeria in the first trip to the Muslim-majority country by a pontiff”

Al Jazeera

Christianity counts fewer than 10,000 adherents among some 48 million people in Algeria.

Al Jazeera

He delivered a keynote address condemning continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies.

The visit carried deep personal significance for Leo, who has long presented himself as a son of Saint Augustine.

He planned to visit Annaba, the ancient Hippo where Augustine served as bishop.

The trip included a visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers, marking only his second visit to a mosque as pope.

The tour's second leg in Cameroon placed peace and reconciliation at the forefront.

The UN estimates at least 6,000 people have been killed and over half a million displaced in the anglophone conflict.

Al-Jazeera Net

Cameroon also faces Boko Haram spillover violence in the north.

The pope planned to preside over five public Masses and addresses in three cities.

Some 600,000 people were expected for a Mass in Douala.

Cameroon sits atop significant reserves of oil, gas, cobalt, bauxite, iron ore, gold and diamonds.

Angola is Africa's fourth largest oil producer and among the world's top 20 producers.

More than 30% of the population lived on less than $2.15 a day.

Equatorial Guinea's economy transformed after offshore oil was discovered in the mid-1990s.

Oil accounts for almost half of GDP and more than 90% of exports in Equatorial Guinea.

More than half of the population still lived in poverty.

The pope's visit included a psychiatric hospital and a prison notorious for reports of inmate torture.

Africa counted 288 million Catholic members in 2024, or 20.3% of the world's total.

Africa accounted for more than half of the 15.8 million people baptized in 2023.

AP News

The continent contributes thousands of men to the priesthood and women to religious orders each year.

The Catholic Church in Africa faces challenges including cultural norms of polygamy.

Ethnic rivalries pose challenges in the appointment of bishops.