The Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, has assured the faithful in Monaco that their faith in God and the nation’s Christian patrimony “puts them before God.”
Speaking during his pilgrimage to the City-state, the successor of St. Peter said, “The Catholic faith, that your country is one of the few to have as a state religion, puts us before the sovereignty of Jesus, which prevents Christians from becoming, in the world, a kingdom of brothers and sisters: a presence that does not oppress, but uplifts; that does not divide, but unites; ready to always protect, with love, all human life, at any time and condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity.”
The Vicar of Christ shares the joy of the gospel with a smile during his apostolic pilgrimage to Monaco. Credit: Vatican News.
Addressing Prince Albert II, his wife Princess Charlene and the crowd during his first international trip of 2026, the Pope, who belongs to the Augustinian Order, expressed delight as the first Vicar of Christ to visit Monaco.
“I am happy to spend this day with you and to be, thus, the first of the Successors of the Apostle Peter, in modern times, to visit the Principality of Monaco, a City-State distinguished by the deep bond that unites it to the Church of Rome and the Catholic faith,” said he.
Speaking about the place of religion in a secular state, the Pope stressed in a time of “unreligious and very secularised culture,” Christians are charged to operate with “a free heart and an enlightened intellect,” which comes from the Gospel.
The Pontiff fulfills the biblical injunction of “let the little ones come to me.” Credit: Vatican News
Pope Leo cited the scripture which refers to the little ones writing history through “the gift of littleness and a living spiritual heritage commit the wealth of you to service of law and justice.”
He traced the history of the City-state “back to the Mediterranean and situated among the founding countries of European unity,” relating it to modern times when the “vocation to the meeting and the care of social friendship, today [are] threatened by a widespread climate of closure and self-sufficiency.”
He lamented that “the flaunting of force and the logic of prevarication harm the world and compromise peace.”
Earlier, the 70-year-old Pope was hosted to a welcome ceremony at the Prince’s Palace during a courtesy visit to Albert II and his wife.
Pope Leo addresses the faithful in Monaco as Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene listen. Credit: Vatican News
Monaco, the second smallest sovereign state in the world after Vatican City, has a population of 38,423 residing in an area of 2.08 km² (0.80 sq mi).
Boasting an impressive 80.9% Catholic population, this unique non-landlocked nation also holds the record for the shortest national coastline in the world, measuring a mere 3.83 km (2.38 mi).
Fewer than 10,000 inhabitants of Monaco are Monégasque nationals, with French as the official language, followed by Italian and Monégasque.
Editor’s Note: All photos are courtesy of Vatican News.
