On March 28, 2026, Pope Leo XIV made a brief visit of less than nine hours to the Principality of Monaco, his first international apostolic journey. The day began with his arrival by helicopter at the city-state’s heliport, where he was received by civil and ecclesiastical authorities. Shortly afterward, a welcoming ceremony was held at the Prince’s Palace, which included a courtesy visit to Prince Albert II and a meeting with the princely family.

From the balcony of the Palace, the Pope addressed the Monegasque people, expressing his joy at being the first of the Successors of the Apostle Peter to visit the Principality in modern times. He recalled the “deep bond” that unites Monaco with the Church of Rome and the Catholic faith, and urged them to delve deeper into the Social Doctrine of the Church in order to develop good local and international practices that demonstrate its transformative power.

In his speech, Leo XIV emphasized that Monaco is a city-state “overlooking the Mediterranean,” among the founding countries of European unity, with a vocation for encounter and the nurturing of social friendship, threatened today by isolationism and self-sufficiency. He stressed that “the gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage commit its wealth to the service of law and justice, especially at a historical moment when the ostentatious display of power and the logic of prevarication harm the world and threaten peace.”

The Pope recalled that in the Bible “the little ones make history” and that authentic spiritualities keep this awareness alive. He invited people to trust in God’s providence in the face of feelings of powerlessness, comparing the Kingdom of God to a tiny seed that grows into a great tree. He insisted that faith changes the world only if historical responsibilities are not shirked.

He referred to the diverse composition of Monaco—the second smallest state in the world after the Vatican—with a local minority and a majority of foreign citizens, many in economic and financial positions, others in service roles, in addition to numerous tourists. “Living there is a privilege and a call to reflect on one’s place in the world,” he stated, quoting Jesus’ parable of the talents: “In God’s eyes, nothing is received in vain. What has been entrusted to us should not be buried, but rather put into circulation and multiplied within the horizon of the Kingdom of God.”

The Pope pointed out that every talent has a universal destiny that demands redistribution to improve the lives of all, because the Kingdom of God shakes up the unjust configurations of power and the structures of sin that create abysses between the poor and the rich, the privileged and the discarded.

As one of the few countries where the Catholic faith is the state religion, Monaco is committed to being a “kingdom of brothers” under the sovereignty of Jesus, a presence that liberates and unites, protecting all human life within the framework of integral ecology. Leo XIV specifically entrusted the Principality with “the commitment to deepen its understanding of the Social Doctrine of the Church and to develop good local and international practices that demonstrate its transformative power.” He added that, even in a secularized culture, the approach to problems characteristic of the Social Magisterium can reveal “the great light that comes from the Gospel” at a time when many people find it difficult to hope.

In closing, he quoted the words of Saint Paul VI on the 75th anniversary of the encyclical  Rerum novarum : “To walk, one needs light; to promote social progress, one needs doctrine; it is thought that guides life; and if thought reflects the truth—the truth about man, about the world, about history, about things—then the path can be continued directly and swiftly; otherwise, the path becomes slow, uncertain, hard, or aberrant.”

The visit underscored the importance of faith as a guide in a context of luxury, diversity, and global challenges, reaffirming Monaco’s role as a space for encounter and service to the common good through the Social Doctrine of the Church.