At the conclusion of Pope Leo XIV's visit to Algeria, Archbishop Nicolas Lhernould, president of the North African Conference of Bishops, recalls that the Pope's visit was inspired by St. Augustine and saw him meet people with faith, simplicity, and humility.
By Tiziana Campisi – Algiers "This was an historic event that will have a broad and lasting impact on the Church and Algerian society." This is how the president of the North African Conference of Bishops (CERNA), Archbishop Nicolas Lhernould, described the Apostolic Journey of Pope Leo XIV to Algeria. Speaking with Vatican News, the Archbishop of Tunis offered the following assessment of the Pope’s visit, emphasizing that the common thread of his addresses was the centrality of God. Archbishop Lhernould also highlighted the word convivium, used several times by the Pope—a "building of fraternity”—which “is very probably also the remedy against everything that leads to the opposite of peace.” Q: How do you interpret Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Algeria? First of all, I see it as a historic event. Not only because no Pope had ever come to Algeria before, but above all because it is Pope Leo XIV, an Augustinian Pope, who has come in the footsteps of Augustine. From the inspiration of Augustine to the encounter with a people. That is, he did not come to make a pilgrimage—he had already done so twice when he was Prior General. He came with all his Augustinian strength and with the emotion of being, above all, in Annaba, but also in Algiers, to meet a people of whom Augustine is a son. This, for me, is what is most historic, not only the fact that no Pope had come here before him. Q: You were Bishop of Constantine and took part in the Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV in the Basilica of Saint Augustine, ancient Hippo, today Annaba. What did this celebration mean? The first thing is that for me it was a great emotion to see again so many beloved faces—friends, brothers, sisters, communities—but also friends who are not Christians, who came because there was an event. Yet, this is not unusual for us, because there is this coexistence, this fraternity with Muslims, which is lived even to the point of a kind of spiritual emulation that means we also easily frequent one another’s places of prayer. The second thing is that in this ceremony I experienced a very strong atmosphere of peace, based on the interculturality that characterizes our communities, but with a gentleness and meekness, which radiated from the Holy Father himself, from his way of being and from his words. It was a significant event, even worldwide thanks to the mass media, and at the same time it was a family moment, an image of our small Church and of the way we live this relationship with our Muslim friends in the country. So, I believe it was a powerful event and image of the universal Church and of the local Church. Q: What does Pope Leo XIV leave to Algeria? Above all, the fact that he came. He made present in the flesh, so to speak, what he had said from the balcony of Saint Peter’s on the day of his election: “I am a son of Saint Augustine.” So, I think that by now he has become a brother to Algeria. We will see this over time, because what will matter is being able to reread what he said, and also to see the impact of his visit in daily life, in relationships, and also the cultural impetus that it may have given. But this will unfold over time. He also spoke strong words. The theme that struck me most, which I see as the common thread, is the centrality of God, from which peace flows and on which he insisted greatly—peaceful coexistence and, above all, joyful coexistence among people. This centrality of God appeared to me as something truly powerful among everything he said. And then the Pope came with humility and simplicity; he did not engage in diplomacy, but spoke to people in a way that, in my opinion, had a strong impact. I felt it especially in the Christian community after the two ceremonies—at Our Lady of Africa and at Annaba—but I also felt it as we left the Martyrs’ Memorial (Maqam Echahid) on the first day. The impact of his words on people and their impression afterward was truly strong and moving. Q: How does the Church in Algeria move forward now? The Church moves forward strengthened in its way of being. The three main pillars of the Church’s presence and witness that the Holy Father developed in his address at Our Lady of Africa are truly a strong encouragement, because they are a definition I would call Augustinian in mission. It corresponds very closely to our way of being and is in harmony with our lived experience: prayer, charity, and unity. These are things that resonate very strongly in every sphere of our Church. What impressed me most from the Pope’s words I will understand over time, because the Holy Father’s way of speaking is not to use striking or rhetorical formulas. His is a gentle manner of being; with his words he always highlights the centrality of God and therefore communion. I was personally struck by the Latin word convivium, which he used several times, meaning “living together,” also citing the mosaic of Tipasa, on which is written: “In Christo Deo pax et concordia sit convivio nostro” (“In Christ God, may peace and concord be in our living together”). He used this several times, and this building of fraternity is very probably also the remedy against everything that leads to the opposite of peace. Thus, Pope Leo XIV does not speak only about peace in the world, with all the difficulties, challenges, and violence of today, but, in continuity with his predecessor, Pope Francis, he also advances a positive vision of how to build peace. He does so with this centrality of God and by drawing from the well of the best in each person, in the conviviality of differences, which, in God, becomes communion. This is a very Augustinian theme, and it is what I personally consider important.