Leo XIV in Annaba, following in Saint Augustine's footsteps: May ‘the Lord’s grace makes the desert blossom’
The Augustinian pope is the first pontiff to visit the birthplace of the Bishop of Hippo. This morning, he visited the home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, saying that God's heart is with the "humble," not the "arrogant”. In the Basilica of St Augustine, he said that the Christians of Algeria bring “joy and comfort to so many brothers and sisters.” The Church is a “welcoming bosom for all peoples.” Jesus’s call is “to be born again from above, that is, from God.”
Annaba (AsiaNews) – Leo XIV, the first Augustinian pope in history, is also the first pontiff to visit Annaba, the ancient Hippo Regius, the place where Saint Augustine lived and carried out his ministry.
Yesterday, speaking to the press on the plane, the pope mentioned the significance of this event, noting that it was the first place he wanted to go on his first apostolic journey after his election almost a year ago.
This morning, rain again greeted the papal plane as it flew from the capital Algiers to Annaba, a coastal city not far from Tunisia. The pontiff’s first stops were the archaeological site of Hippo (a visit shortened by the bad weather), the nursing home run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the House of the Augustinian community, where he met with members of the Order.
In the afternoon, the pontiff presided over Holy Mass in the Basilica of Saint Augustine, on top of a hill, known as Lalla Bouna.
Commemorating the episcopate of the saint born in Thagaste in 354 AD, the church (built between 1881 and 1900 in Neo-Moorish and Neo-Byzantine style) contains the ulnar bone from his right arm. Nearby is the Espace Santa Monica, named after his mother, where all his famous works are kept.
“Augustine, Bishop of the ancient city of Hippo. Over the centuries, the names of the places that welcome us have changed, but the saints continue to serve as our patrons and faithful witnesses of a connection to the land that comes from heaven,” Leo said in his homely.
The pope compared the Christian community in Muslim-majority Algeria to incense, like “a glowing grain that spreads fragrance because it gives glory to the Lord and joy and comfort to so many brothers and sisters. This incense is a small, precious element that does not draw attention to itself, but invites us to turn our hearts to God, encouraging one another to persevere amid the difficulties of the present time.”
Starting with the Gospel of the day (Jn 3:7-15), Leo spoke about how Jesus Christ is for Nicodemus “a special guest”, called by Him to a “new life” and given the task of being “born from above”.
“Jesus’ invitation gives rise to the mission of the whole Church, and consequently to the Christian community in Algeria: to be born again from above, that is, from God,” Leo said. From “this perspective, faith overcomes earthly hardships and the Lord’s grace makes the desert blossom.”
Yet, this "exhortation" carries with it a "challenge”, that is the weight of a "duty", exuding from Christ's imperative, that to the listener sounds like an "impossible” command.
“On the contrary, the obligation expressed by Jesus is a gift of freedom for us, because it reveals an unexpected possibility: we can be born anew from above thanks to God,” he said.
“We should do so, then, according to his loving will, which desires to renew humanity by calling us to a communion of life that begins with faith. While Christ invites us to renew our lives completely, he also gives us the strength to do so,” he explained.
“[W]hen we ask ourselves how a future of justice, peace, harmony and salvation will be possible, we must remember that we are asking God the same question that Nicodemus asked: can our story truly change? We are so weighed down by problems, hardships and tribulations! Can we truly start our lives over again? Yes!
The pontiff stressed that the "Lord's response" is "full of love" and capable of filling hearts with hope. “No matter how weighed down we are by pain or sin: the crucified One carries all these burdens with us and for us,” he said, noting that the Church is a "welcoming bosom for all peoples."
Leo spoke of spiritual unity as "concordia”, whose "tangible effects" consist in the fact that "no one is deprived of anything, because everyone shares what is theirs." Indeed, “No one is deprived of anything, because everyone shares what they have.”
He noted that the "foundation of this new life" is to "bear witness to God before the world”, which is a "mission" to be constantly renewed, “so that through her service, the whole Church may be a message of new life for those we encounter.”
In the morning, the Holy Father visited the Ma Maison nursing home, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor, a place of care and fellowship for senior citizens, near the Basilica of St Augustine.
“‘There is hope!’,” he said. “Yes, because God’s heart is torn apart by wars, violence, injustice and lies. But our Father’s heart is not with the wicked, the arrogant or the proud. God’s heart is with the little ones, with the humble, and with them he builds up his Kingdom of love and peace day by day,”
Yesterday evening, at the end of the first day of his third and longest apostolic journey (which will take him after Algeria to Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea), Pope Leo XIV met with representatives of the Algerian community in the Basilica of Notre Dame d’Afrique in Algiers.
After greetings from the Archbishop of Algiers, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, he addressed the people present as “heirs of a host of witnesses who gave their lives, motivated by love for God and neighbor”, like the 19 martyrs, men and women religious who died between 1994 and 1996 in Algeria’s civil war whose “blood is a living seed that never ceases to bear fruit."
The pope mentioned a "more ancient" tradition, dating back to the first centuries of Christianity, of a land and a people who heard the "fervent voice" of Saint Augustine, preceded by the "testimony" of Saint Monica, his mother. “Their memory shines as a call to be authentic signs of communion, dialogue and peace today,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV shared with those present, “beloved children of the Church in Algeria”, his thoughts about Christian life, starting with three "essential" aspects, “particularly in light of your presence here:” prayer, charity, and unity.
"We all need to pray," he said, noting that, precisely in Notre Dame d'Afrique, "many come to enter into silence" or to "meet someone willing to listen to them so they can share the burdens they carry in their hearts."
“Prayer unites, humanizes, strengthens and purifies the heart. Through prayer, the Church in Algeria sows humanity, unity, strength and purity, reaching places known only to the Lord,” Pope Leo XIV added.
On the second aspect, charity, he stressed that "it is precisely love for their brothers and sisters that inspired the witness of the martyrs" of Algeria.
Last but not least, the pope spoke of the "commitment to promoting peace and unity." Algiers’s basilica, which welcomed the pontiff, “symbolizes a Church of living stones, where communion between Christians and Muslims takes shape under the mantle of Our Lady of Africa.”
“In a world where division and wars sow pain and death among nations, in communities, and even within families, your experience of unity and peace is a compelling sign. Together, you spread fraternity and inspire a deep longing for communion and reconciliation,” he said. In the “desert”, which covers a great part of Algeria’s territory, “no one can survive alone.”
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25/02/2026 18:14
