Pope Leo XIV expresses the wish to go to Algeria, in the footsteps of Saint Augustine

The new sovereign pontiff, Léon XIV, expressed his desire to visit Algeria, in a message addressed to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. This wish was transmitted by the Algerian ambassador to the Vatican, Rachid Bladehane, on the sidelines of the inaugural mass of the pontificate, celebrated yesterday in Rome in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs, Youcef Belmehdi. This Vatican symbolic gesture comes a few days after the election of Pope Leo XIV on May 8. Of American-Peruvian origin, but marked by its French roots, the new pope claims a strong spiritual filiation with Saint Augustine, a major theologian born in Thagaste-today Souk Ahras-, in Algeria.

Father of the Church and an essential thinker of Christianity, Saint Augustine shaped Western Christian doctrine by works such as Confessions Or The City of God. His career, between philosophical quest and spiritual illumination, finds a deep echo in the vision of Leon XIV, who sees in him “a giant of the Spirit, Father of the Christian soul”.

Léon XIV, former Cardinal-Diacre of Santa-Monica, had already mentioned in 2023 his personal attachment to this land of North Africa. He then greeted Souk Ahras as a “spiritual matrix, a source of eternity”, paying homage to this city which saw the birth not only of Saint Augustine, but also his mother, Saint Monique, symbol of prayer and perseverance. This ancient emotional bond could thus motivate one of its first pontifical trips outside Europe.