With less than three weeks to go before Pope Leo XIV's visit to the Principality of Monaco on March 28, the detailed program for the Pontiff's second apostolic journey was unveiled on March 9, 2026, by the Holy See Press Office. The Pope, who will travel to and from the Vatican by helicopter without passing through Italy or France, will speak on four occasions. He will address the crowds in French, the country’s official language.
On March 28, 2026, Pope Leo will spend a busy day visiting the Principality of Monaco, a Catholic sovereign principality embedded in the French east coast.
The Pope will depart from the Vatican heliport at 7 a.m. on March 28 and arrive at the Monaco heliport at 9 a.m. after a 284-mile flight. This trip will not follow the usual pattern of the Pope's international travels; part of the papal delegation, including journalists and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, will fly to Nice and therefore transit through French territory.
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Welcome by the Prince and meeting with the local Church
Leo XIV will be welcomed at the Prince's Palace at 9:25 a.m. and will pay a courtesy visit to Prince Albert II of Monaco at 9:40 a.m. He will then deliver a greeting.
Next, he will go to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception at 11 a.m. for a meeting with the local Catholic community, during which he will deliver a homily. This will be followed at 11:45 a.m. by a meeting with young people and catechumens in front of the Church of Sainte-Dévote, where he will give a speech.
The last highlight of the day will be the Mass celebrated at 3:30 p.m. at the Louis II Stadium, for which approximately 15,000 participants are expected. Leo XIV will deliver the homily.
The departure ceremony is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. at the Monaco heliport. He’s expected to take off at around 5:45 p.m. and land at the Vatican heliport at around 7:45 p.m.
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Presentation of the logo for the Pope's trip
The logo for the Pope's trip was also presented on March 9. It depicts Leo XIV dressed in liturgical vestments and blessing the faithful, with the tower of the Prince's Palace as a reminder of the identity and sovereignty of the Principality. Yellow and white, the colors of the Vatican flag, are used as the background for this logo, along with red, in reference to the Monegasque flag, on the letters of the word “Monaco.”
At the bottom is the motto: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn 14:6), which shows “that the Pope is the spokesperson for Christ himself and his message,” according to the organizers of the trip.
Distributed by the Holy See's Dicastery for Communication, upscaled by Aleteia using AI
Monaco, a Catholic state
This short apostolic trip linking the two smallest states in the world should be an opportunity for the Pope to pay tribute to the specific nature of the Principality of Monaco, which retains Catholicism as its state religion.
This constitutional status, now very rare in Europe, led Prince Albert to refuse to legalize abortion in November 2025. This decision was widely noted and appreciated in the Vatican, according to Roman and Monegasque sources.
This short trip of a few hours, which will precede an extensive 11-day tour of Africa two weeks later, will be the first visit by a pope to Monaco in modern times. The previous visit by a pope dates back to 1538, when Pope Paul III stayed there in the context of the summit organized in Nice to arrange a truce between Charles V and Francis I.
