Monaco
The leaders of the world’s two smallest states got here collectively on Saturday, as Pope Leo XIV made historical past with the first papal go to to Monaco in fashionable occasions.
Leo travelled to Monaco from the Vatican by helicopter and was welcomed by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene and commenced his go to with a personal assembly on the prince’s palace. A crowd waving Monaco and Vatican flags and youngsters carrying yellow hats waited for him.
The pontiff’s go to to the principality has raised questions on why he selected a place recognized for its wealth and popularity as a playground for the super-rich for his first foreign trip of 2026, and his first in Europe outdoors Italy.
But the ties between the papacy and Monaco run deep with Catholicism the state faith in the principality, and the Vatican sees diplomatic mileage in working carefully with one other small state.
There can also be a private dimension: the first US-born pope and Prince Albert share American connections given Prince Albert of Monaco’s mom, the Hollywood actress Grace Kelly, married Prince Rainier III in 1956.
“The gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage invite you to put your prosperity at the service of law and justice,” Leo instructed the group gathered outdoors the prince’s palace, saying it was wanted at a time when the “display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.”
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, stated small states might nonetheless play an vital ethical position on the world stage as a “bulwark against authoritarian tendencies” whereas highlighting the shared priorities between the Vatican and Monaco.
Parolin stated in an period when “international law appears weakened” together with the “dangerous return of theories that justify preventive wars”, smaller states will be “natural guardians of multilateralism”
These embrace the safety of the setting – with Monaco actively pursuing a inexperienced transition – and opposition to abortion, with Prince Albert just lately vetoing an abortion regulation in the principality.
The ties between Monaco and the church are mirrored in Princess Charlene being amongst a small group of Catholic royal girls granted the uncommon privilege of carrying white in the Pope’s presence, as an alternative of the customary black.
Leo’s one-day itinerary consists of a assembly with Monaco’s Catholic group, and a public Mass on the nationwide stadium.
The pope, although, has no plans to go to Monaco’s well-known on line casino district and, in response to his brother John, Leo gave up playing after his time as a missionary in Peru.
“We used to enjoy going to the boat and gambling,” John instructed the National Catholic Reporter. “After this experience, [he’d say] “Nuh-uh, it’s a waste. There’s better things you could do with your money.”