Pope Leo XIV starts landmark Algeria visit - VIDEO

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Algeria on Monday, marking the beginning of an 11-day tour across Africa and the first international trip of his papacy, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The visit comes amid public criticism from US President Donald Trump regarding the pontiff’s position on the Iran war, an issue that risks overshadowing the tour.

The US-born pope landed in the capital, Algiers, at around 0900 GMT. During his visit, he is expected to pay tribute to the victims of Algeria’s war of independence from France, which took place between 1954 and 1962.

His arrival was overshadowed by an escalating feud with US President Donald Trump, who lambasted the pope as "terrible" and "weak" in a rare public attack prompted by Leo's stance on the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Algeria this morning. He was met by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune & an artillery salute.

It is the first stop in his 11-day, 4 country tour of Africa, seeing him also visit Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea between now and April 23 pic.twitter.com/bODZxX1N3f

— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) April 13, 2026

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Leo said he had "no intention to debate" with the US president.

"I am not a politician," the pontiff said. "The message is the same: to promote peace."