In speaking at the general audience this week about his recent trip to four African nations, Pope Leo XIV began with Algeria, home to sites associated with St. Augustine, which he cited as “the roots of my spiritual identity.” Here he spoke of “crossing and strengthening bridges that are very important for the world and the Church today: the bridge with the very fruitful age of the Fathers of the Church; the bridge with the Islamic world; and the bridge with the African continent.”
That “bridge” to the Islamic world — Algeria is a majority Muslim country — was worth noting. Islamist violence against Christians is a pressing problem in parts of Africa, especially Nigeria, the most populous African state.
A possible “bridge” to the Islamic world was also in the background of the Holy Father’s comments on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Francis, which occurred during the African pilgrimage. Indeed, that part of the Catholic-Islamic story is an important part of Pope Francis’ pontificate that needs to be remembered.
Return to Epic Papal Travel
Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Africa was a return to the papal travel of the 1980s and 1990s, when St. John Paul
