Pope Leo begins 10-day Africa tour as Trump attacks Church leader

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT – Pope Leo XIV set off on April 13 for ambitious 10-day tour of four countries in Africa, in a bid to urge global leaders to address needs on the continent where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live.

The first US Pope, who was the target of an unusual, direct attack from US President Donald Trump late on April 12 that drew sharp rebuke from Catholics, left Rome for Algeria, where he will spend two days.

Pope Leo is undertaking a whirlwind tour to 11 cities and towns, traversing nearly 18,000km over 18 flights, and will also visit Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

The Pope is making the visit with a mission “to help turn the world’s attention to Africa”, Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official and close adviser to Pope Leo, told Reuters.

The Pope, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, has made only one big overseas trip since being elected in May 2025, visiting Turkey and Lebanon in November and December. He visited Monaco in March.

Pope Leo, aged 70, relatively young and in good health for a pope, is undertaking one of the most complicated tours arranged for a pontiff in decades.

More than 20 per cent of the world’s Catholics live in Africa, according to Vatican statistics. The three sub-Saharan nations the Pope is visiting have populations where more than half identify as Catholic.

Algeria, though, is an overwhelmingly Muslim country with under 10,000 Catholics among its population of some 48 million people. This is the first time it will host a Catholic pope.

Pope to give 25 speeches on multitude of topics

Pope Leo’s tour is the 24th by a pope to Africa since the late 1960s.

He is expected to touch on many topics in 25 planned speeches over 10 days, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni told journalists on April 10, given that the four nations face diverse issues.

Likely topics include exploitation of natural resources, Catholic-Muslim dialogue and the dangers of political corruption, said Mr Bruni.

Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have presidents who have been in power for decades and have been accused of human rights abuses, which they deny.

The biggest event of the itinerary will likely come in Cameroon on April 17, when the Vatican said some 600,000 are expected for a mass in the coastal city of Douala.

Comfortable in several languages, Pope Leo is expected to speak Italian, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish during the trip.

Landing in Algeria in mid-morning on April 13, Pope Leo will address the country’s political leaders before visiting the Great Mosque of Algiers in only his second visit to a mosque as pope.

He will travel on April 14 to Annaba on Algeria’s north-east coast, for a visit to the ruins of the ancient town of Hippo.

The site has special meaning to Pope Leo, who is a member of the Augustinian religious order. The order is inspired by the teachings of St Augustine of Hippo, a major figure in the early Church. REUTERS