After a flight of over an hour, Pope Leo arrived at 10.32 am local time in Annaba, where he had previously visited twice – in 2004 and 2013. He was greeted by rain, the Bishop of Constantine-Hippona, Michel Jean-Paul Guillaud, and the Algerian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Culture.
The first stop was a visit to the archaeological site of Hippo, where the remains of the Roman and Christian cities are preserved, including the so-called Basilica Pacis, where Saint Augustine carried out his ministry. The Pope walked through the ruins and, at the end of the tour, laid a wreath of flowers, pausing for a brief moment of prayer, and planted an olive tree, a symbol of peace. Leo XIV remained for a few moments deep in prayer, with his hands clasped. Meanwhile, white doves were released into the leaden, rain-laden sky, whilst the choir of the Annaba Institute of Music sang hymns in Latin, Berber and Algerian, with texts by the Bishop of Hippo on peace and brotherhood.
Travelling by car, the Holy Father then went to visit the shelter run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, where nine nuns care for around forty residents, including some Muslims and the Archbishop Emeritus of Algiers, Paul Jacques Marie Desfarges, who in a brief testimony spoke of the sisters’ “tenderness” towards the elderly.
“Listening to you and seeing your presence here amongst your elderly brothers and sisters, it comes naturally to praise God and thank him,” replied the Pontiff. “Seeing a house like this – he added – makes one think: so there is hope! Because God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence and injustices.”
In the morning Leo XIV also included a private meeting with the community of Augustinian religious, and after lunch, in the Basilica of St Augustine, the Pontiff celebrated Mass in French and urged the Christians of Algeria to be humble witnesses to the Gospel and to foster dialogue in daily life. “In this land, dearest Christians of Algeria, remain as a humble and faithful sign of Christ’s love. Bear witness to the Gospel through simple gestures, genuine relationships and a dialogue lived out day by day: in this way you bring flavour and light to the places where you live.”
“A future of justice and peace, of harmony and salvation” is possible if we entrust ourselves to God, the Pope encourages, even when there are “problems, pitfalls and tribulations (…). No matter how much we are weighed down by pain or sin, the Crucified One bears all these burdens with us and for us”.
And before imparting his blessing, Leo XIV addressed everyone with moving, impromptu words: “I regard this journey as a special gift of God’s Providence (…). And it seems to me that I can sum it up thus: God is Love, He is the Father of all men and women. Let us turn to him with humility; let us confess that the current state of the world, like a downward spiral, ultimately stems from our pride. We need him, we need his mercy. Only in him does the human heart find peace, and only with him can we, all together, recognising one another as brothers and sisters, walk the paths of justice, integral development and communion.”
