“Disarmed and disarming”: Algeria cited in the first words of Leo XIV

Cardinal Prevost, a spiritual son of St Augustine, was elected pope on the very day the Church celebrated the liturgical feast of the martyrs of Algeria, among whom were two Augustinian nuns. And in the description of the “disarmed and disarming” peace of the Risen Christ proclaimed by the new pope in his first Urbi et Orbi blessing, there echoed the prayer once written by Christian de Chergé, the prior of Tibhirine.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The peace of the Risen Christ is “a disarmed peace and a disarming peace, humble and persevering.” In the words spoken yesterday by Pope Leo XIV in his first Urbi et Orbi blessing, in a world so marked by the arms race, this description immediately stood out. But these adjectives also reveal a key aspect of Robert Francis Prevost’s spirituality. They likely contain a deeply meaningful reference: to the martyrs of Algeria, killed between 1994 and 1996 and beatified under Pope Francis, whose liturgical feast was observed yesterday – 8 May.

“Lord, disarm them. And disarm us,” is the prayer left in writing by one of these martyrs beatified by Pope Francis: Brother Christian de Chergé, prior of the Trappist monastery of Notre-Dame de l’Atlas in Tibhirine. He was kidnapped on 26 March 1996 along with six fellow monks during one of the darkest periods of the war between Islamic fundamentalists and the Algerian army, and they were all found killed two months later. Prevost comes from the Augustinian Order, of which he was Prior General for twelve years. Drawing on the legacy of St Augustine – the great philosopher and Church Father who served as bishop of Hippo from 395 to 430 AD – the order has always maintained a special bond with Algeria.

Not by chance, two of the 19 Algerian martyrs were also Augustinian nuns: Caridad Álvarez Martín and Ester Paniagua were Spanish missionaries working in the Bab el-Oued district of Algiers, supporting the elderly, disabled children, and needy families. They were killed on 23 October 1994 during what is referred to as the “Black Decade.” Between 1992 and 2002, several armed Islamist groups – including the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS) – carried out numerous attacks on civilians, intellectuals, journalists, and religious figures, both Christian and Muslim. It was a brutal internal war against the Algerian government that resulted in around 150,000 deaths.

Sister Esther Paniagua Alonso and Sister María Caridad Álvarez Martín chose to remain alongside the Algerian people despite threats to their safety. Esther, born in 1949 in Izagre (León), joined the Augustinian Missionary Sisters at age 18 and was sent as a nurse to Algeria. There, she lovingly cared for disabled children, learned Arabic, and deepened her understanding of Muslim culture. During a period of community discernment, she said: “No one can take our life, because we have already given it… and if something happens to us, we are still in God’s hands.” Caridad, born in 1933 in Santa Cruz de la Salceda (Burgos), entered the congregation in 1955 and spent over thirty years in Algeria, particularly in the working-class neighbourhood of Bab el-Oued in the capital. Despite the threats, she chose to stay, declaring: “I want to remain in this posture before God.”

The Augustinian Sisters continue their mission in Algeria to this day, with active communities in Dar El Beida and at Notre Dame d’Afrique in Algiers. Their work focuses on educating children, providing healthcare, and empowering women and youth living in marginalised areas of Algerian society.

The Augustinian friars – of whom Prevost was Prior General from 2001 to 2013 – also carry forward their historical and spiritual legacy in Algeria, particularly through the care of the Basilica of St Augustine in Annaba (ancient Hippo), which was restored in recent years. Located near the site where St Augustine served as bishop and died in 430 AD, the basilica is now a hub for intercultural dialogue and peace-building initiatives. The friars, supported by the Augustinians in the World Foundation, have launched social programmes benefiting youth, the elderly, and migrants, aiming to bridge cultural and religious divides through community engagement.

“I believe that today the voice of the Church,” said Cardinal Prevost in an interview with Italian public television a few months ago, “the witness of the Church not as an institution but as a communion of the faithful – with the martyrs, with the presence and witness of men and women who give their lives, often in situations of violence, war, and conflict – is a voice that offers great hope to the world.”