James O'Reilly
Pope Leo XIV has bid farewell to Algeria, the first stop on his tour of Africa. It is the land where St. Augustine of Hippo would go on to become a Doctor of the Catholic Church. The importance of this trip is even greater for the pontiff, as Augustine is the founder of the order to which he belongs—the Augustinians.
POPE LEO XIV
And that in itself, I would say, is also symbolically significant because St. Augustine, who was bishop, as you know of him, Hippo, for more than 30 years, actually is a figure which is very much from the past, speaks to us of tradition, speaks to us of the life, the church, as the church grew in the early centuries, and he's still... A very important figure today.
After thanking the political authorities of Algeria for welcoming him to their country, Pope Leo departed. On his way to Cameroon, during the usual press conference with the journalists accompanying him on this tour of the African continent, he shared these words about the Algeria visit:
POPE LEO XIV
So in two days in Algeria, I think we've really had a wonderful opportunity to, if you will, continue to build bridges, to promote dialogue. I think the visit to the mosque was significant to say that... that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshipping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace
The third apostolic journey of Pope Leo XIV offers a unique opportunity for him to promote the message of interreligious dialogue in a world at war and in urgent need of peace.
