Pope Leo XIV has embarked on a 10-day tour of four countries in Africa, in a bid to urge global leaders to address the needs of the continent where more than a fifth of the world’s Catholics live.
Leo’s visit commenced on Monday, with a historic trip to Muslim-majority Algeria.
Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump, has criticised Pope Leo XIV, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy”, drawing a sharp rebuke from the head of the Catholic Church.
Trump delivered the unusual criticism of Leo in a Sunday night post on social media, saying he didn’t “want a Pope who criticises the President of the United States”.
Trump’s outburst appeared to have been triggered by recent remarks from Pope Leo who criticised the US-Israel war on Iran.
It was gathered that Leo is undertaking a whirlwind tour to 11 cities and towns, traversing nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) over 18 flights, with visits also to 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 Leo, revealed.
The pope, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war and decried the “madness of war” on Saturday, had made only one major overseas trip since being elected last May, visiting Turkey and Lebanon in November and December. He also visited Monaco in March.
Leo, aged 70, relatively young and in good health for a pope, is undertaking one of the most complex tours arranged for a pontiff in decades.
He and his entourage departed Rome’s Fiumicino Airport shortly after 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), heading for the Algerian capital, Algiers, where he will meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune before addressing the country’s political leaders.
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