Pope Leo visits Algeria in sign of Africa’s growing importance to Catholic church

Pontiff makes first papal visit to country as he starts 11-day tour that will also include stops in Cameroon and Angola Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Algeria for the first papal visit to the country, calling for peace on the opening stop of a tour of Africa that signals the continent’s growing importance to the Catholic church. The 11-day trip, which will include stops in Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, is the longest by Pope Leo since being elected to the papacy in May last year. The choice to visit Africa sends a powerful signal that the continent is one of the church’s top priorities, according to academics and theologians. Adriaan van Klinken, a professor of religion and African studies at the University of Leeds, said this reflected shifting demographics, with Africa home to one of the fastest-growing Catholic populations and accounting for about 20% of Catholics worldwide. By contrast, the Catholic population in western Europe is in decline. “Africa is the site of vitality, of growth, of the future of the church,” Van Klinken said. In the last year alone, 14 new dioceses have been created across Africa, with the Catholic population growing by 7 million, accordin