Following in the footsteps of his spiritual father Saint Augustine, Leo XIV arrived Tuesday in Annaba, in eastern Algeria, on the second day of an unprecedented visit marred by a double suicide bombing on which the Algerian authorities have remained silent.

This trip, the first by a pope to the Muslim-majority country, had already been partly overshadowed on Monday by a diatribe from Donald Trump against him, followed overnight by further statements from his vice-president, JD Vance.

Welcomed with honors and under draconian security for this inaugural stop on a tour of four African countries, Leo XIV launched a message of peace, forgiveness and interreligious fraternity in Algiers on Monday.

But his visit was marred, on the very day of his arrival, by a double suicide bombing in Blida, about forty kilometers from the capital, according to a Western source familiar with the case and images authenticated by AFP.

Algerian authorities and local media have maintained a total silence on this first suicide bombing in the country in more than six years, according to data compiled by AFP.

Amazigh songs

The Pope's trip has so far proceeded as planned, without incident. On Tuesday mid-morning, the head of the Catholic Church arrived in Annaba, the ancient Hippo, for a stop of personal and spiritual significance, following in the footsteps of Saint Augustine (354-430).

The great Christian thinker who was bishop there bequeathed his name to the religious order from which the American pope came, founded in the 13th century and today composed of about 3,000 members around the world advocating charity and community life.

In the pouring rain, the Pope visited the Roman archaeological site and planted an olive tree, while a choir sang songs in Latin, Amazigh and Arabic, inspired by texts of Saint Augustine on peace and brotherhood.

Leo XIV, with a decidedly social conscience, then advocated humility in a care home for destitute elderly people, mostly Muslims, cared for by Catholic nuns.

Sunni Islam is the state religion in Algeria, where Catholics represent less than 0.01% of the 47 million inhabitants.

In the afternoon, in front of approximately 1,500 faithful, he will celebrate a mass at the Basilica of Saint Augustine, perched on a hill, in the presence of African religious figures of various nationalities.

On Monday in Algiers, Leo XIV had launched a powerful appeal for "forgiveness" in front of the Martyrs' Monument, to the victims of the bloody war of independence against France (1954-1962), calling for "not adding resentment to resentment, from generation to generation".

In front of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the highest authorities, Leo XIV also invited the country's leaders "not to dominate" the people and to promote "a living, dynamic and free civil society".

Trump's rant

Since the momentum of the Hirak pro-democracy movement in 2019, which demanded deep reforms and more transparency, Algerian authorities have regained control of the public space, denounce human rights NGOs.

The Pope visited the Great Mosque before going to the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, which overlooks the Bay of Algiers.

He paid his respects in the chapel of the 19 "martyrs of Algeria", priests and nuns murdered during the dark decade of civil war (1992-2002) between Islamist groups and government forces, which left 200,000 dead.

Against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East, the visit was disrupted diplomatically by diatribes from Donald Trump, who on Sunday said he was "not a big fan" of the Pope, accusing him of supporting the Iranian nuclear weapons program and of opposing the American military operation in Venezuela in January.

JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, for his part called on the Vatican to "stick to moral issues" and to "let the President of the United States take charge of defining American public policy."

But the Pope maintained that the Church had "a moral duty to speak out very clearly against the war." While stressing that he was not "afraid" of the Trump administration, he nevertheless indicated that he did not want to "enter into a debate" with it.

On Wednesday, the 70-year-old pope will leave Algiers for Cameroon, following his first African trip which will also take him to Angola and Equatorial Guinea until April 23, an 18,000 km journey with a very busy agenda.

AFP