Pope Leo XIV to make historic Africa tour of four nations in April

Pope Leo XIV will embark on his first major overseas trip of 2026 from April 13-23, visiting Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon—including a historic first-ever papal visit to Muslim-majority Algeria, the Vatican announced Wednesday.

The Algeria leg carries deep personal significance for Leo, a member of the Augustinian order.

He will visit Algiers and Annaba, site of ancient Hippo where fourth-century St. Augustine—a major Church figure—lived and worked.

The visit aims to strengthen Catholic-Muslim dialogue in a nation where Catholics number only a few thousand among 47 million people.

Africa's growing church

About 20 percent of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics now live in Africa, the continent where the Church is growing fastest.

Reverend Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, a Nigerian Jesuit, said the tour "will remind the world that Africa matters and the vibrancy of the Church in Africa remains at the heart of a thriving global Church".

Leo will also visit Monaco on March 28 and Spain from June 6-12, including the Canary Islands migration route.

The trip follows Leo's November-December 2025 visits to Turkey and Lebanon.