First-ever papal visit since independence: Algeria ramps up preparations for Pope Leo XIV's tour in April

Local sources in Algeria, speaking to The New Arab on the upcoming visit of Pope Leo XIV next month from 13 to 15 April, said that the Vatican has chosen the phrase "As-salamu alaykum" (Peace Be Upon You) as the visit's central theme.

The Bishop of Algiers outlined the main events of the visit, which will begin with a meeting between Pope Leo XIV and President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and will include masses in both Algiers and the eastern city of Annaba.

The Church in Algeria closed registrations last night for the two masses to be held by the Pope at the Church of Our Lady of Africa in Algiers and Saint Augustine Church in Annaba. The closure was due to limited seating and space and to allow security arrangements to ensure the Pope's safety and optimal conditions for the visit.

Sources indicate that 200 journalists will cover Pope Leo XIV's visit. Algerian authorities are preparing a fully equipped media centre in Annaba to facilitate work for both local and international reporters covering the first-ever papal visit to Algeria since its independence.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien on Tuesday, Bishop Jean-Paul Vesco outlined the Pope's itinerary. The Pope will meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, attend a mass with the Christian community at the Church of Our Lady of Africa, and visit a religious site commemorating 19 monks killed during the civil war in the 1990s.

The following day, he will travel to Annaba, where Saint Augustine once lived, with another mass planned there.

Bishop Vesco confirmed that visiting the Tibhirine monastery, located 120 kilometres south of Algiers, is not planned. Seven monks were killed there by an armed group in 1997. The bishop said, "This is not planned. The message of Tibhirine is that Christians were killed alongside Muslims before being killed by Muslims. One hundred imams were also assassinated at that time."

Authorities reportedly declined a celebration for the bicentennial of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, founder of the White Fathers in Algeria, during the Pope's visit. Bishop Vesco said this was due to Lavigerie's pro-colonial positions and efforts to evangelise Algerians, including founding a White Fathers school, which was later demolished after independence and replaced by the Grand Mosque of Algiers.

Regarding challenges faced by Algeria's Protestant community, which restricts unlicensed church activities under the 2006 law regulating non-Muslim worship, Bishop Vesco remarked, "Yes, there are difficulties addressing these issues, and solutions must be found. What I hope for is a general opening for everyone."

Algeria strictly prohibits unlicensed churches and recently closed a Christian association’s headquarters for illegal activity.

On 24 July 2025, Pope Leo XIV met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Vatican during the president's visit to Italy. They discussed the positive relations between the Holy See and Algeria.

The Pope had announced in late December 2025, on his return from Lebanon, his intention to visit sites associated with Saint Augustine.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari.