Pope Leo XIV starts a four-nation visit to Africa Monday, visiting the fastest-growing continent for the Catholic Church as he embarks on his fourth foreign trip since becoming pontiff in 2025.

While the trip does not include the continent’s most populous nation of Nigeria — where thousands of the faithful have been killed for their religious beliefs — it begins in the Muslim-majority country of Algeria.

The Vatican has called the trip "A pilgrim in Africa." The main themes Leo is expected to address include peace, migration, the environment, young people and the family, according to the Holy See. He will make 25 speeches in four of Africa’s main languages — French, English, Portuguese and Spanish.

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Analysts and clerics are keen to stress the overall importance of this visit to the continent. "I believe the Holy Father is walking with the African church in the context of the global church," Rev. Daniel Male, secretary of the Union of Augustinian Friars of Africa, told the Religion News Service. He added, "He is affirming the African churches’ growth and vibrancy and is also making a statement that the church has a preferential option for the poor and those at the margins."

The Catholic OSV News added the visit "highlights peace efforts, the works of mercy, and the Catholic Church’s vibrant presence on the continent."

The National Catholic Register stated that in 1910 Africa was home to less than 1 million Catholics. The latest figures available for 2024 estimate there are now 288 million.

Commenting on his absence from Nigeria, Frans Cronje, African-based analyst at the Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, told Fox News Digital, "Given Nigeria's role as the epicenter of the terror threat faced by Africa's Christians, it will be disappointing to many of them to learn that the pope has left that country off his Africa agenda. The country has become ground zero for the global Islamist terror threat."

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The pontiff must be invited to a country by the host government. Analysts say the government of Nigeria may feel a papal visit may be too sensitive at this time. But the Nigerian government did not respond to requests for comment on this issue by Fox News Digital.

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Details of the trip include:

The Vatican’s yearbook for 2025, the Annuario Pontificio, states Catholics number 8,740 out of a population of 46–48 million. The pope is believed to be coming to Algeria to visit the ancient city of Hippo, now called Annaba. The city was home to St. Augustine, the "doctor of the church." Pope Leo is the first pontiff to belong to the Augustinian Order.

He is also expected to emphasize interfaith dialogue with Islam when he visits the Great Mosque of Algiers. This is one of the biggest in the world, capable of accommodating up to 120,000 people.

The 2026 Open Doors World Watch List placed Algeria in the 20th position for Christian persecution. It said 47 churches of the Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) have been closed by the authorities.

The Associated Press reported that Algerian authorities rejected a Vatican request for Leo to visit Médéa to pray at the Tibhirine monastery, the place where seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and killed May 21, 1996, by Islamic extremists during the country’s civil war.

The Catholic EWTN organization reports that Catholics make up between 30% and 35% of the population of some 30 million.

The pope will preside over five public Masses and addresses in three cities. He will also meet with vulnerable children at the Ngul Zamba Orphanage in the capital city of Yaoundé.

In the latest government census, some 56% of Angola’s population identified as being Catholic.

The most significant part of the pope’s visit to Angola is expected to be when he goes to the town of Muxima, where he will pray at a shrine to the Virgin Mary, known locally as "Mama Muxima," or "mother of the heart." This is said to be the spiritual home for many Angolans, drawing over 2 million pilgrims every year.

The Vatican has stated that approximately 80% of the population of Equatorial Guinea are Catholic. Leo will hold several Masses and addresses, and will visit a new psychiatric hospital and a prison. The Jean Pierre Olie Psychiatric Hospital in Sampaka, Malabo, was only inaugurated in December and is the country’s first modern specialized mental health facility. It collaborates with France’s Hospital Saint-Anne in Paris.

In a potentially controversial move, the pope will also visit a prison in Bata notorious for reports of inmate torture and abuse.

The Vatican did not respond to Fox News Digital questions by press time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For Mehdi Ghadimi, the ideology behind Iran’s ruling system is not theoretical. It was something he was taught from childhood.

"You were told you are a part a small group chosen by God… to revive God’s religion and fight to defend it," the Iranian journalist told Fox News Digital, describing the message repeated in schools, mosques and state media.

That early indoctrination, he said, framed the world in stark terms: a divine struggle between good and evil, with Iran’s leadership positioned at the center of a religious mission.

Iran’s ruling system is often described in political terms, but critics and former insiders say its core is far more radical — a belief structure rooted in religious absolutism, messianic expectation and a worldview that leaves little room for compromise.

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As a new generation of commanders rises within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following recent military blows under Operation Epic Fury, analysts warn that this ideology may become even more entrenched.

Figures such as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Ahmad Vahidi are often cited as part of a cohort shaped by years of conflict in Iraq and across the region — one that sees religion, security and survival as inseparable.

At the center of that worldview is the belief in the Mahdi — a messianic figure in Shiite Islam whose return is expected to usher in a final era of justice after chaos.

Twelver Shiism is the dominant belief for Shias, the Mahdi, identified as the 12th Imam, is alive but hidden and will one day return. Iran’s political system positions the supreme leader as his caretaker. 

Critics say that framework gives political authority a religious dimension that can make it difficult to challenge.

"For the mullahs in Iran, the Mahdi idea is less about personal faith and more about power," said Lisa Daftari, foreign policy analyst and editor-in-chief at The Foreign Desk. "They use it to suggest that the supreme leader’s views are not just political opinions, but carry a kind of divine weight."

"The system is set up so that disagreeing with the leader can be portrayed as questioning the Hidden Imam himself," she said.

"That turns ordinary policy debates into something almost untouchable… you’re no longer arguing with a politician, you’re seen as pushing back against a sacred figure."

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Ghadimi argues that this structure leaves little room for genuine political diversity.

"Groups labeled as ‘moderate,’ ‘reformist,’ or ‘pro-Western’ are created so that the West can negotiate with them," he said.

"No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally."

For Iran expert Daftari, the Mahdi doctrine also provides a flexible justification for policy.

"A lot of insiders know perfectly well that this language is being used strategically," she said. "The Mahdi story gives the leadership a way to claim moral and religious cover for decisions that are often about preserving the regime or expanding its reach."

"When they talk about ‘preparing the ground’ for the Mahdi, that phrase can be stretched to cover almost anything — crushing protests, backing militias abroad or asking people to accept more economic pain."

"This religious framing makes compromise much harder," she added. "If you convince your base that you are carrying out a holy mission… backing down can be painted as a betrayal of God’s plan."

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Ghadimi said that message is reinforced from childhood, shaping how generations understand their role in society.

In schools, media and mosques, he said, ideology was embedded into everyday life, leaving little space for alternative narratives.

That framing, analysts say, helps explain how the system sustains itself even under pressure.

It also contributes to a worldview in which conflict is not temporary, but part of a larger, ongoing struggle.

"The Islamic government, based on its own interpretation of the Quran, considers itself obligated to enforce Islamic law across the entire world," Ghadimi told Fox News Digital, adding that the regime "sees itself as the leader of this belief globally."

"They harbor hatred toward Iranians and Jews, whom they regard as enemies of Islam since its very beginning, and they consider killing them—such as on Oct. 7 and in the recent killings in Iran — to be divinely rewarded acts, much like the beliefs once held by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi," he said.

"No one within the structure of the Islamic Republic thinks about anything other than defeating the Western world and establishing Islamic dominance globally," Ghadimi said.

In that framework, critics say, Iran is not simply pursuing national interests but acting within what it sees as a broader religious mandate.

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Some critics argue that within this framework, violence can take on religious meaning.

"They consider killing them… to be divinely rewarded acts," Ghadimi said.

Still, analysts say the combination of messianic belief and absolutist ideology creates a system in which confrontation is not only expected, but justified.

An Iranian official rejected those characterizations and warned that economic collapse and destruction caused by war could drive long-term resentment.

"If a country is turned into ruins, poverty spreads. Out of such poverty comes hatred, resentment and a desire for revenge, and this cycle of hostility can continue for years. It is not correct to think that everything will simply end the day after a ceasefire. Even if there were no hostile government left in place, people within society who have lost everything may still be driven to seek retribution."

For Ghadimi, the issue is not just how Iran behaves, but how it understands itself.

If the system is rooted in a belief that blends religion, power and mission, critics say, then policies like repression at home and confrontation abroad may not be temporary tactics but structural features.

And if moderation within that system is limited, as some argue, then the challenge for policymakers is not simply negotiation, but understanding the ideology that drives it.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was chased out of the country's largest mosque Friday as Muslims in attendance voiced anger over his stance on the Israeli war against Hamas. 

Albanese was called several names, including a "putrid dog" and a "genocide supporter" in reference to the deaths of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel, The Telegraph reported.  

Video footage showed the prime minister standing alongside Tony Burke, the home affairs minister, at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney as the community marked Eid, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

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"Why is he in here? Get him out of here!" some shouted. 

Albanese and his Left Labor government have drawn criticism for its support of a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel's right to defend itself. 

During the commotion, Gamel Kheir, the mosque’s secretary, pleaded for calm. 

"Respect the place you’re in," he said. "We must engage and have frank and open dialogue with our political leaders and not shy away and be reclusive."

"You called him honorable. He’s responsible for the deaths of 1 million people, 1 million of our brothers and sisters," one person reportedly shouted. 

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Albanese was taken into an office inside the mosque by security before he was taken out of the building and into his motorcade. 

As he was leaving, cries of "shame on you" and the slur "Alba-tizi," a derogatory Arabic play on his surname, referencing buttocks, were shouted. 

"He wants to come here after shaking hands with the president of Israel, who’s got blood on his hands," said one person who confronted the prime minister. "To come here and act like nothing has happened is a disgrace."

Albanese posted photos on X showing him smiling and shaking hands with attendees.

"Overwhelmingly, the reception was incredibly positive," he told reporters of his visit. "I walked through the crowd to the mosque, and not a single person heckled. There were a couple of hecklers inside. They were dealt with.

"Contrary to what’s been suggested, no one was rushed out," he added. "We just sat there. … It was dealt with by the community themselves because overwhelmingly they did not want that to occur."