Pope Leo XIV’s private visit to the Augustinian Sisters in Bab El Oued reveals heartfelt gestures and Algeria’s enduring spirit of faith.
Newsroom (16/04/2026 Gaudium Press ) Last Monday, in the heart of Bab El Oued—a vibrant working-class district of Algiers—the Augustinian Missionary Sisters welcomed Pope Leo XIV as family. The historic encounter marked the first time a Pope had set foot in Algeria, a gesture rich in symbolic and spiritual meaning for a nation still healing from decades of hardship.
Yet for Leo XIV, the narrow streets of Bab El Oued were not unfamiliar ground. He had already visited the neighborhood in 2004 and 2009, when he was prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine. This time, however, his return carried the weight of papal significance, even though it was a private visit. The encounter quickly became one of the most touching moments of his pontificate—an act of compassion that resonated far beyond the walls of the convent.
Inside the modest workshop of the Welcome and Friendship Center, Sister Lourdes Miguélez, a veteran missionary who has spent 53 years in Algeria, guided the Pope through a humble yet vibrant display of local craftsmanship. Here, impoverished Muslim women find not only vocational training but also dignity and solidarity. They learn to sew, craft jewelry, and create beauty out of simple materials—copper, coral, and thread transformed into symbols of resilience.
Before a small display of handmade jewelry, the Pope paused, visibly moved. He examined the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings made by artisans whose hands had worked through adversity. Then came an unexpected, intimate gesture that captured hearts worldwide. The Pope chose a necklace—a copper and coral piece featuring the Tree of Life—to give to his niece, the daughter of his brother Louis Prevost.
“What’s it called?” he asked softly. “The Tree of Life,” replied Sister Lourdes in Spanish, “but without the earrings.” “No, it’s not for me. I’ll give it to my niece,” he said, smiling. The exchange, recorded by the artisanal brand behind the jewelry, soon spread across social media, embodying the human warmth and simplicity of faith in action.
Later, a photograph emerged showing a young woman in a chador holding the wrapped gift, her face radiant with emotion. Her joy spoke of something greater—a bridge of hope connecting two worlds, faith uniting people beyond borders and beliefs through the language of shared humanity.
The Augustinian Missionary Sisters have lived that language for generations. They know intimately how to share the daily joy and pain of the Algerian people. Sister Lourdes herself witnessed the darkest years of the country’s civil war, when violence claimed up to 200,000 lives. In 1993, as the Armed Islamic Group declared its intent to kill all foreigners, the sisters made a decision born of conviction—they would stay.
That fidelity cost dearly. On October 23, 1994, Sister Caridad Álvarez and Sister Esther Paniagua were murdered on their way to Mass. Their deaths became part of Algeria’s painful yet luminous history of martyrdom. Along with 17 other religious men and women, they were beatified on May 8, 2018, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Holy Cross in Oran—a ceremony that offered both remembrance and reconciliation.
During his visit, Pope Leo XIV paused to honor their legacy. He prayed for their souls and for the Algerian people who continue to rebuild their lives, guided by faith, solidarity, and quiet perseverance. The spirit of those martyrs lives on in the Augustinian home, in small daily gestures—the teaching of a craft, a shared meal, a necklace shaped with care and love.
In Bab El Oued, faith and friendship intertwine like the copper and coral of that Tree of Life necklace—fragile yet enduring, a symbol of unity that reaches across time and creed.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Prensa
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