Pope Leo XIV to Embark on Historic African Tour of Four States in April

Pope Leo XIV will visit Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon from 13 to 23 April 2026, including a historic first papal visit to Muslim-majority Algeria, the Vatican announced on Wednesday.

A member of the Augustinian order, Pope Leo XIV has a strong personal connection to the Algerian leg of the tour. He will travel to Algiers and Annaba, the historic city of Hippo where the fourth-century St Augustine, a key Church figure, lived and worked.

Africa now accounts for almost 20% of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, making it the continent where the Church is expanding most rapidly.

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

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

The tour follows Pope Leo’s trips to Turkey and Lebanon in November–December 2025.