Pope Leo XIV Embarks on 10-Day African Journey Amid Criticism from Trump

Pope Leo XIV embarked on a 10-day tour of four African countries, aiming to draw global attention to the continent, which is home to over a fifth of the world's Catholics, with his first stop being a historic visit to Muslim-majority Algeria on February 18, 2026.

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During his tour, Pope Leo XIV will visit 11 cities and towns, covering nearly 18,000 km (11,185 miles) over 18 flights, with stops in Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, as part of his mission to "help turn the world's attention to Africa", according to Cardinal Michael Czerny.

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United States President Donald Trump criticised Pope Leo XIV, calling him "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy" in a Sunday night social media post, prompting a sharp rebuke from the head of the Catholic Church, who had previously spoken out against the US-Israel war on Iran.

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Pope Leo XIV's visit to Africa comes after he made only one major overseas trip since being elected last May, visiting Turkey and Lebanon in November and December, and Monaco in March, with his current tour being one of the most complex arranged for a pontiff in decades.

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At 70 years old, Pope Leo XIV is relatively young and in good health for a pope, and he departed Rome's Fiumicino Airport for the Algerian capital, Algiers, where he will meet President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and address the country's political leaders, marking the first time a Catholic pope has visited the overwhelmingly Muslim country.

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More than 20 per cent of the world's Catholics live in Africa, with the three sub-Saharan nations the pope is visiting having populations where more than half identify as Catholic, while Algeria has fewer than 10,000 Catholics among its population of about 48 million people.

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Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni noted that the four nations on the pope's itinerary face diverse issues, with likely topics to be addressed including exploitation of natural resources, Catholic-Muslim dialogue, and the dangers of political corruption, in 25 planned speeches over 10 days.

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Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have presidents who have been in power for decades and have been accused of human rights abuses, which they deny, with the biggest event of the itinerary expected to take place in Cameroon on Friday, when about 600,000 people are expected to attend a Mass in the coastal city of Douala.

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Pope Leo XIV, who is comfortable in several languages, is expected to speak Italian, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish during the trip, and will visit the Great Mosque of Algiers, only his second visit to a mosque as pope, after addressing Algeria's political leaders on Monday.

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The pope will also travel to Annaba, on Algeria's northeast coast, for a visit to the ruins of the ancient town of Hippo, a site with special meaning to him as a member of the Augustinian religious order, inspired by the teachings of fourth-century St. Augustine of Hippo.

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Pope Leo XIV stated that the Vatican's appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and he does not fear the Trump administration, saying "I do not want to get into a debate with him" and "I will continue to speak out loudly against war, promoting peace, dialogue and multilateral relationships among states to find just solutions to problems".

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He also said "Too many people are suffering in the world today, too many innocent people are being killed, I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way", as he pushes for peace and condemned the "delusion of omnipotence" fuelling war, in comments that appeared directed at Trump.

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Last week, Pope Leo XIV issued a rare direct rebuke of Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilisation, calling it "truly unacceptable", and previously questioned the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies, saying "I don't know if that's pro-life".

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Trump took to Truth Social to write: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, I don't want a Pope who thinks it's terrible that America attacked Venezuela, Leo should get his act together as Pope, use common sense, stop catering to the radical left, and focus on being a great Pope, not a politician".

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Trump also claimed credit for Pope Leo XIV's leadership in the Catholic Church, suggesting the Vatican picked the first US-born pontiff to curry favour with the White House, saying "If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican".

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When asked about the comments later on Sunday, Trump reiterated that he was "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, who he said "is not doing a very good job", and also stated "He likes crime, I guess, he's a very liberal person".

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Trump had a rocky relationship with Pope Leo XIV's predecessor, Pope Francis, who criticised Trump's immigration policy proposals when he first ran for president and suggested Trump was "not a Christian", with Trump calling Francis "disgraceful" in early 2016.