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By Pope

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, is visiting Algeria on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Holy See’s establishment of diplomatic relations with the North African country. His visit began on Tuesday.

According to the programme released on the official Twitter account of the Secretariat of State (@TerzaLoggia), Archbishop Gallagher begins his trip to Algeria with a visit to the Martyrs’ Monument in Algiers. The memorial commemorates victims of the war of liberation.

Later, he holds meetings with the Minister of the Interior, Brahim Merad; and the Minister for Religious Affairs, Youcef Belmehdi.

The Archbishop then meets with the Rector of the Great Mosque of Algiers, Mohamed Mamoune El Kacimi El Hassini. The first day of his visit concludes with a conversation with the President of the Algerian Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.

On Wednesday, 26 October, Archbishop Gallagher begins the day with a visit to the Tibhirine Monastery, the home of a group of Trappist monks who were martyred in 1996.

The monks were beatified in 2018 in Oran, Algeria, along with 12 other individuals martyred in the country between 1994 and 1996.

Following the visit to the monastery, Archbishop Gallagher meets with members of the diplomatic corps and civil authorities, followed by an encounter with members of the local Church before his return to Rome.