What should we remember from Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Algeria?

A call for forgiveness and reconciliation

Like any state visit to Algeria, the sovereign pontiff began his trip with a visit to the Memorial to the Martyrs of the War of Independence, in Algiers. In a speech delivered in English and translated by an Arabic interpreter, Leo

“We must work to heal memory and reconcile former adversaries,” he insisted a little later, during a meeting with the authorities.

A tribute to the martyrs of Algeria

If Leo Before representatives of the Algerian community gathered in the Notre-Dame-d’Afrique basilica, he said: “You are the heirs of a multitude of witnesses who gave their lives, driven by the love of God and neighbor. I am thinking in particular of the nineteen religious martyrs of Algeria who chose to be alongside this people in their joys and in their sorrows. Their blood is a living seed that will never stop bearing fruit. (…) it is the love for the brothers which gave rise to the testimony of the martyrs whom we have remembered. » In this church, the pope also lit a candle in front of an icon representing these martyrs.

The Bishop of Rome also visited the place where two of these martyrs lived, the Augustinian sisters Esther and Caridad. He stopped at their community of Bab-el-oued for a private visit to the nuns who still live there.

At the school of Saint Augustine

“I am very happy to visit the land of Saint Augustine again”: from the journey between Rome and Algiers, Leo XIV recalled that this trip was aimed above all at making a pilgrimage in the footsteps of the theologian. “The opportunity to visit the places of the life of Saint Augustine, where he was bishop in the city of Hippo – Annaba today – is therefore truly a blessing for me personally, but I also believe for the Church and for the world,” he further indicated.

For Peter’s successor, Augustine is a “very important bridge in interreligious dialogue (…) to build peace and reconciliation”. In Annaba, visibly moved, Leo XIV placed a wreath of flowers in memory of the author of The City of God and Confessions.

An attempted attack

The visit of Leo XIV was also marked by an attempted suicide attack, committed around fifty kilometers from Algiers. Little information has been relayed so far, with the authorities strictly limiting all communication, but two suicide bombers are said to have killed themselves by explosion, without however causing any casualties. This is the first suicide attack in the country since 2020.