Pope Leo on papal plane to Cameroon: St. Augustine invites all to search for God and truth today

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT TO YAOUNDE, Cameroon (OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV spoke to journalists aboard the papal plane on April 15 on the five-hour flight from Algeria to Cameroon, underlining St. Augustine’s enduring importance today, saying that the saint’s invitation “to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today.”

Reflecting on the past two days in Algeria, the first leg of the pope’s 11-day tour of four African countries, the pope said that his return to the modern Algerian city of Annaba and the ruins of the Roman city of Hippo April 14 was not only “a special blessing for me personally,” but also “symbolically significant” to “offer to the Church and the world a vision that St. Augustine offers us in terms of that search for God and the struggle to build community.”

Speaking in English, Pope Leo said that St. Augustine, who was a bishop of Hippo for more than 30 years, is a figure who is “very much from the past, speaks to us of tradition, speaks to us of life, the Church, as the Church grew in the early centuries.”

“And he’s still a very important figure today,” the pope added. “His writings, his teaching, his spirituality, his invitation to search for God and to search for truth is something that is very much needed today, a message that is very real for all of us today, as believers in Jesus Christ, but (also) for all people.”

“And as you’ve seen, even the people of Algeria, the vast majority of whom are not Christian, they very much honor and respect the memory of St. Augustine as one of the great sons of their land,” Pope Leo added.

“So it was a special blessing for me personally to return once again to Annaba yesterday, but also to offer to the Church and the world a vision that St. Augustine offers us in terms of that search for God and the struggle to build community, to seek for unity among all peoples and a respect for all peoples in spite of the differences,” he said.

The pope spoke during the five-hour flight on the papal plane, traveling from Algiers, Algeria, to Yaoundé, Cameroon. Sweeping views of the golden sands of the vast Sahara Desert could be seen out the window during the flight for two hours as the plane flew south over Algeria, the largest country in Africa. The papal plane also flew over Niger, Chad and Nigerian airspace en route to Cameroon’s capital city.

Pope Leo offered a blessing to each country as the chartered papal ITA plane flew over in telegrams sent to the presidents of each nation.

Cameroon is the second African country the pope is visiting in his 11-day tour of four African countries — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

After pulling back the cabin curtain to enter the back of the plane where the journalists sit, the pope began with a smile and a greeting, speaking in his native English.

“Happy to greet you all this morning after what I personally consider to have been a very blessed trip and visit to Algeria,” Pope Leo said.

He expressed gratitude to the local authorities in Algeria who made the visit possible, pointing out “they’ve even given us the full honor of an escort as we fly over Algerian airspace,” gesturing to the Algerian military fighter jets flying on either side of the papal plane.

Pope Leo described his time in Algeria as a wonderful opportunity to “continue to build bridges” and to promote interfaith dialogue between Catholics and Muslims.

“I think the visit to the mosque was significant to say that although we have different beliefs, we have different ways of worshiping, we have different ways of living, we can live together in peace,” the pope said.

“And so I think that to promote that kind of image is something which the world needs to hear today, and that together we can continue to offer in our witness as we continue on this apostolic voyage,” he added.

The papal plane touched down in the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé around 3 p.m. local time on April 15. The pope was welcomed with a full honor guard on the tarmac at the foot of the staircase of the plane.

Pope Leo is visiting the central African nation April 15-18, during which time he will meet with religious and political leaders, traditional chiefs, peacemakers, as well as the more than 8 million Catholics living in the country.

The pope will visit three cities in Cameroon: the capital Yaoundé on April 15, the northwestern city of Bamenda on April 16, and Douala, the country’s largest city and economic hub, on April 17.

The highly anticipated papal visit to Bamenda will bring Pope Leo directly into a conflict zone in Cameroon’s Anglophone northwest, where a separatist conflict has been ongoing for nearly a decade.

Two days before the pope’s arrival, a separatist alliance in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions declared a three-day ceasefire, saying it would observe the three-day “safe travel passage” to allow civilians and visitors to move freely during the pope’s visit.

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