Papal Trip

In a conversation with OSV News, Bishop Michel Guillaud of Constantine-Hippone discussed the deep connection to St. Augustine that unites the pope with the nation

Pope Leo is to celebrate eight public Masses and deliver 11 speeches, while also meeting political leaders, Catholic communities, students and missionaries.

The one-day trip will be Pope Leo’s first international journey of 2026 and only the second of his pontificate, and it carries a packed itinerary.

Algeria is a country with a small Christian community, but one that is “joyful in living fraternally with all the people of this country.”

The Vatican said peace and care for the poor will be central themes of the African journey, which will also bring him in the footsteps of St. Augustine.

Pope Leo XIV, the head of the world’s smallest state, may make a brief visit to Monaco, the world’s second-smallest state, this year, the Vatican confirmed. 

The trip seems unlikely to happen in the immediate future, given a growing divide between the Trump administration and the pope over U.S. immigration policies.

Pope Leo’s reunion with the Peruvian episcopate was an encounter with old friends and “very moving and beautiful,” Bishop Cadenas said.

Recent announcements by bishops in Angola, Algeria and Spain have indicated Pope Leo XIV will visit their respective countries this year. 

VATICAN CITY (OSV News) — With the jubilee year now officially ended, the pope’s travel schedule is also expected to ramp up, with one trip especially dear to the pontiff …