Pope Léon XIV made his first official visit to Monaco on Saturday, the first by a pontiff in nearly 500 years to the principality. Welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène, he called for social justice and wealth redistribution from the palace balcony. He denounced the « abîmes between poor and rich » and advocated for peace and the defense of life.
Pope Léon XIV arrived in Monaco by helicopter from Rome on Saturday morning, avoiding a landing on French soil. This express visit of less than nine hours to the state of under 2 km² with 39,000 inhabitants and 150 nationalities marks a historic first in over half a millennium.
Welcomed at the princely palace by Prince Albert II, Princess Charlène, and their children Jacques and Gabriella, the pope delivered a speech from the balcony to over 5,000 people. Speaking in French, he stated: « The gift of smallness, with a living spiritual heritage, engages your wealth in the service of law and justice, especially at a historic moment when displays of force and the logic of all-powerfulness wound the world and compromise peace. »
He denounced « the unjust configurations of power, structures of sin that dig abysses between poor and rich, between privileged and rejected, between friends and enemies ». « Every talent, every opportunity, every good placed in our hands has a universal destination, an intrinsic duty not to be withheld but redistributed », he insisted, invoking « social friendship » and « integral ecology ».
Monaco, an economic and financial microcosm with Catholicism as the state religion, was called to promote the Church's social doctrine. Prince Albert II hailed this « unique bond » and shared fights for peace and ecology: « Peace can only be lasting if founded on justice. »
The schedule included a meeting at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, a visit to Sainte-Dévote Church, and a mass at Louis II Stadium for 15,000 faithful. The pope, a former missionary in Peru, extends François's social legacy.
