Pope Leo criticizes ‘neocolonial’ powers during Algeria visit after Trump attack

Pope Leo XIV on Monday called for global peace and warned against “neocolonial tendencies” in international affairs as he began an 11-day African tour with a historic visit to Algeria.

The visit marks the first papal trip to Algeria and the opening leg of a four-nation journey that will also take the pontiff to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The Vatican says the tour aims to highlight Africa’s increasing importance to the Catholic Church, with the continent now home to about one-fifth of the world’s Catholics .

Speaking at the Martyrs’ Memorial in Algiers, the pope linked his message of peace to Algeria’s painful struggle for independence from France and urged world leaders to pursue justice and dignity rather than power politics.

In a gesture of interfaith outreach, the pope visited the Great Mosque of Algiers , praising the search for truth and respect for human dignity as foundations for peaceful coexistence between Muslims and Christians.

Leo also paid tribute to 19 Catholic martyrs killed during Algeria’s 1990s civil war , including seven Trappist monks from Tibhirine who were abducted and murdered in 1996. The group was beatified in 2018 in the first such ceremony held in the Muslim world.

The visit carries deep personal significance for the pope, whose Augustinian religious order draws inspiration from Augustine of Hippo , one of Christianity’s most influential thinkers born in present-day Algeria. On Tuesday he is scheduled to travel to Annaba, the ancient city of Hippo where Augustine served as bishop, highlighting the spiritual roots of his papacy.

Observers say the complex trip, expected to cover about 18,000 kilometres and include dozens of speeches, is among the most ambitious foreign visits of Leo’s young papacy and reflects the Vatican’s growing focus on Africa’s expanding Catholic population and interfaith relations.