By Sarah Miansoni with AFP
In Algeria’s northern town of Annaba, preparations are underway at the Basilica of Saint Augustine ahead of Pope Leo’s visit next week.
The Pope will land in Algiers on Monday, where he will visit the Maqam Echahit Martyr’s Monument — commemorating the Algerian War of Independence — and meet Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, before travelling to Annaba the next day.
The town was home to the ancient Christian theologist and philosopher Saint Augustine, a spiritual father for Pope Leo XIV, who belongs to the Augustinian Order.
Parishioners and members of the clergy alike expressed their enthusiasm ahead of the papal visit. “It is important in the way that it shows the nearness of the Church to us,” said priest Fred Wekesa, the rector of the Basilica of Saint Augustine.
“We are very grateful for this opportunity of the Pope coming here to Algeria,” said 22-year-old student Michele Oum Gicha. “We are going to host him very well. He will have a very nice mass here with us. We can’t wait for that day.”
The trip will mark the first visit by a pontiff to Algeria, a predominantly Muslim country. The Pope, who will visit the Great Mosque of Algier, is expected to renew his call for interfaith dialogue.
Pope Leo’s visit to Algeria will mark the first stop ofhis upcoming Africa tour, which will also take him to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea throughout April.
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