Pope Leo’s visit to Monaco was the first papal visit to the country in the modern era
MONACO — In a papal visit to Monaco, a principality known for super yachts and sports cars, Pope Leo XIV urged wealthy citizens to remember the poor and protect every human life, calling on them to remember that the Last Judgment “places the poor at its center.”
“Within your community, many people hold positions of considerable influence in the economic and financial spheres,” Pope Leo said in his speech from the balcony of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco March 28.
“The kingdom of God, to which Jesus dedicated His life … comes among us and shakes up the unjust configurations of power — those structures of sin that create chasms between the poor and the rich, between the privileged and the discarded,” he said.
Pope Leo became the first pope in modern history to visit Monaco March 28, traveling the streets of the famed Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit by popemobile, instead of by race car, to meet the faithful of the tiny Catholic Mediterranean principality.
Flanked by Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene on the palace balcony, Pope Leo addressed an elegantly-dressed Monégasque crowd in his first speech of the quick 13-hour papal visit to Monaco, the world’s second smallest state after Vatican City. The visit is Pope Leo’s first international journey of 2026 and only the second of his pontificate.
In his speech in the palace, Pope Leo entrusted the Catholic principality with the task of “protecting every human life” and deepening its “commitment to the social doctrine of the Church.”
“This faith places us before the sovereignty of Jesus, who calls Christians to become in the world a kingdom of brothers and sisters — a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition.”
Pope Leo XIV arrived at Louis II Stadium in Monte Carlo, Monaco, to celebrate Mass, March 28.
School children in yellow hats eagerly waved the flags of Monaco and Vatican City as Pope Leo traveled by popemobile through Monaco’s famed streets with panoramic views of the Mediterranean below. On the way, he stopped numerous times to bless babies.
At Monaco’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Monaco-Ville, the pope prayed midday prayer with the local Catholic community and members of the royal family, urging Monaco’s faithful to “proclaim the Gospel of life, hope and love.” The cathedral, consecrated in 1911 on the site of a parish church dating to 1252, contains the tombs of Monaco’s royal family.
“Bring the light of the Gospel to everyone so that the life of every man and woman may be defended and promoted from conception until natural death. Offer new pathways capable of stemming the tide of secularism, which risks reducing humanity to individualism and basing social life on the production of wealth,” Pope Leo said.
Pope Leo then made his way to the Church of St. Devota, one of Monaco’s most cherished religious sites. Dedicated to the patron saint of Monaco, an early Christian martyr from Corsica executed during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, the chapel lends its name to the first corner of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit. At St. Devota, the pope met with young people and catechumens, including 70 adults preparing to receive the sacraments of baptism, first Communion and confirmation.
Inside the chapel, he spent a few moments in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and paused to venerate the relics of St. Devota.
Under the bright Mediterranean sun, Pope Leo answered questions from young people and soon-to-be baptized catechumens about how to maintain hope in difficult times, witness to God’s love and comfort those who feel abandoned by God.
