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Pope Leo left Rome at 9:06 am local time on Monday, bound for Algeria – the first stop on his four-country Apostolic Journey across Africa.
The 11-day trip includes visits to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.
The pontiff is the first leader of the global Catholic Church to visit Algeria, a majority-Muslim country.
According to the Archbishop of Algiers, Jean-Paul Vesco, the pope aims to help “build bridges between the Christian and Muslim worlds.”
Shortly before his departure, the pope became the subject of public remarks by US President Donald Trump, who expressed disagreement with the pope’s calls for an end to violence in the Iran conflict.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo,” Trump told reporters, adding that the pontiff is, in his view, “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon.”
Trump also suggested that the cardinals may have elected Leo in May 2025 partly because he is American. He later shared an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus Christ.
Pope Leo, however, told reporters aboard the papal plane that he had “no intention to debate” with Trump.
“I am not a politician,” the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane as they headed to Algeria for the pontiff’s first visit to Africa.
“I have no intention to debate with (Trump). The message is the same: to promote peace.”
Leo had previously described certain threats against civilians in Iran as “unacceptable,” without naming the president, and has also criticised migration policies under the Trump administration as “inhuman.”
In a statement Monday morning, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a right-wing leader with ties to the Trump administration, wished the pope a successful journey.
“May the Holy Father’s ministry foster the resolution of conflicts and the return of peace, both internally and between nations, following the path traced by his predecessors, and provide support and comfort to the Christian communities he will encounter during his journey,” she wrote.
The pope’s itinerary covers more than 18,000 kilometers (11,000 miles) between April 13 and 23.
Upon arrival in Algiers – his first stop – he is scheduled to meet with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, address diplomats, and honour victims of Algeria’s 1954–1962 war of independence against France.
In Algiers, ahead of the historic visit, walls have been repainted, roads repaved, and green spaces adorned with plants and flowers.
The visit holds personal meaning for the pope, as Algeria was home to Saint Augustine (354–430), whose spiritual legacy has influenced his papacy.
The theologian laid the foundations for the Augustinian order, to which Leo belongs, which focused on communal living and service.
In his first speech as pope, Leo described himself as a “son” of Augustine, whose writings he frequently quotes.
On Tuesday, the pope is expected to visit the northeastern city of Annaba — the site of the ancient Roman city of Hippo, where Saint Augustine once lived.
Father Fred Wekesa, rector of the Saint Augustine Basilica in Annaba, said the visit would offer a “message of encouragement and solidarity” to the local congregation.
Monday’s planned schedule in Algiers also includes visits to the Great Mosque of Algiers and the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, overlooking the Bay of Algiers.
The pope intends to pray privately in a chapel dedicated to 19 priests and nuns killed during Algeria’s 1992–2002 civil war. He is not scheduled to visit the Tibhirine monastery, where monks were kidnapped and killed in 1996 — an event whose details remain unresolved.
Wekesa noted that some still view Algeria “through the lens of the ‘dark years,'” but said the pope’s visit would show “the hospitality and generosity of the Algerian people. We are capable of living together in peace.”
