After 48 hours in Algeria, Pope Leo XIV boarded a flight Wednesday bound for Yaoundé, Cameroon, the second stop on his tour of Africa. The ITA Airways Airbus took off at 10.16 am local time and is due to land in the Cameroonian capital at 3.20 pm, following a flight of around five hours.
On his way to Algiers airport on Wednesday, the Pope made a final visit that was not on the official program: He stopped off at the Notre-Dame d’Afrique nursery, run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, where the children put on a short performance for him, the Holy See reported.
On arrival at the airport, the head of the Catholic Church held a final, private meeting with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. A brief farewell ceremony then took place before the Pope climbed the steps of the A330neo waiting for him on the tarmac, heading into the cabin after bidding a final farewell to Algeria.
The day before, at the end of the only public Mass he presided over in the country, the Pontiff had thanked the civil authorities for their hospitality, expressing his belief that this journey was for him “a special gift of God’s providence, a gift that the Lord wished to bestow upon the whole Church through an Augustinian pope.” This historic trip marked the first visit by a pope to Africa’s largest country. During his stay, he visited Algiers and Annaba – the homeland of his spiritual mentor, Saint Augustine.
During the flight to Yaoundé – which will cover more than 4,000 kilometers (some 2,500 miles) – the Pope is due to fly over Algeria, Niger, Chad and Nigeria. As is customary, he is expected to send telegrams to the heads of state of these countries, expressing his best wishes for their nations. In addition to the papal entourage, Leo XIV is accompanied on this visit by 67 journalists from around the world.
