Every time a Pope arrives in a country, another race almost inevitably begins: interpreting his words.

What did he mean? Who was it directed at? Did he support the government? Did he question it? Who was he photographed with? Who did he meet with?

Politics is an integral part of a papal visit. It couldn’t be otherwise. The Pope is pastor of the universal Church, but also head of state of Vatican City. He meets with presidents, authorities, diplomats, and representatives of civil society.

The problem isn’t that the Pope talks about politics. The problem is listening to his words only through the lens of partisan categories.

France: See the full trip

The visit that Leo XIV has just begun in France allows us to observe this.

His first day included a visit to the President of the Republic, government officials, civil society representatives, the diplomatic corps, and UNESCO. It continued with Vespers at Notre-Dame Cathedral and a meeting with young people at the Stade de France.

Next will come Maison Bakhita, a work dedicated to the accompaniment and integration of migrants; catechumens and the newly baptized; Lourdes; the sick; victims of abuse and interreligious dialogue meetings.

The president is on the agenda.

But that’s not the whole agenda.

And what happened at UNESCO offers another clue.

Leo XIV spoke of peace, education, science, artificial intelligence, human dignity, and cooperation among nations. These are issues that inevitably permeate politics. But his message was not directed at a party or a government: he spoke to the international community using concepts such as the common good, dignity, and peace.

Perhaps therein lies the difference we need to learn to recognize: talking about politics does not necessarily mean engaging in partisan politics.

The place from which a Pope speaks

The Church has a social doctrine and a view on the person, work, justice, peace and the common good that did not originate with the current government nor does it end when that government changes.

Therefore, when a Pope speaks about poverty, migration, wages, war, prisons, or human dignity, his words can have political consequences.

But that doesn’t mean we should immediately translate them into support for or opposition to a particular government.

Trying to figure out which side he’s on can make us miss the essence of what he’s saying.

Places also speak

There is another way to interpret these trips: observe where the Pope goes.

In France, Leo XIV travels from the Élysée Palace to Notre-Dame Cathedral and from there to a stadium filled with young people. He visits a charity working with migrants and then makes a pilgrimage to Lourdes. He meets with the sick and victims of abuse. Finally, he engages in dialogue with representatives of other religions.

Future trips will show it again.

In Argentina, for example, there will be authorities and representatives of civil society, but also a visit to the Little Cottolengo Don Orione, a meeting with the world of work, young people, a prison and finally Luján.

Every place tells a story.

When a Pope enters a prison, we can discuss prison policies, security, and criminal law. But for a Christian, there is a much simpler phrase that comes first:

“I was imprisoned and they visited me.”

Visiting prisoners is an act of mercy.

It doesn’t mean justifying the crime. It means remembering that a person doesn’t lose their dignity by being behind bars.

The same thing happens when you enter a hospital, a charity, a migrant center, or an institution dedicated to people with disabilities.

Not every gesture needs to be immediately translated into a political category.

Don’t just keep one photograph

Leo XIV’s visits will produce images with presidents, leaders, union members, businessmen and authorities.

And those photographs will be important.

But there will be others.

The Pope with a sick person. Facing a young person. Listening to a worker. Entering a prison. Praying before the Virgin Mary. Meeting someone who may never appear in a photograph again.

An apostolic visit is understood when we are able to look at all those images together .

Because the Pope engages in dialogue with those in power, but he does not travel solely to meet with those who have power.

He travels as a shepherd.

There will be politics. There will be headlines. There will be interpretations, and surely each side will try to find a phrase that confirms its own perspective.

Perhaps we cannot avoid it.

But we can choose how to listen to it.

Because when the Pope speaks of peace, human dignity, work, migration, poverty, technology, or the care of the most vulnerable, he is not speaking only to Catholics. He speaks to the men and women of our time , believers and non-believers alike, from a perspective that proposes but does not impose.

Therefore, understanding an apostolic visit requires more than following the agenda or interpreting each photograph. It requires listening to the full message and asking ourselves what it has to say, even when its words don’t fit neatly into our own categories.

The challenge may not be to prevent politics from being present. It is to prevent politics from preventing us from seeing the Pope and hearing the universality of his message.