where seven French Trappist monks were kidnapped and killed , by Islamic fighters during the civil war

However, Algerian authorities turned down the Vatican request for Leo to visit to Médéa (50 kilometers/30 miles south of Algiers) to pray at the Tibhirine monastery “Algeria has no intention of reopening a painful chapter of its history,” the government daily El Moudjahid wrote in support of the government’s decision. Leo is expected to refer to the sacrifice of the monks, who were among 19 priests, nuns and other Catholics killed during the war. They were beatified in 2018 as martyrs for the faith in what was then the first such beatification ceremony in the Muslim world. A growing church, with growing challenges