“Pope Leo XIV makes a rare 1-day visit to glitzy Monaco”

“Pope Leo XIV is going to the principality of Monaco for a one-day trip”

“Pope Leo XIV travels Saturday to the principality of Monaco, becoming the first pope in nearly five centuries to visit the glitzy Mediterranean enclave”

“Monaco is also one of the few European countries where Catholicism is the official state religion”

“Prince Albert recently refused a proposal to legalize abortion, citing the important role Catholicism plays in Monaco society”

“The decision was largely symbolic, since abortion is a constitutional right in France, which surrounds the coastal principality of 2.2 square kilometers (about 1 square mile)”

“In refusing to allow it in Monaco, Albert joined other European Catholic royals who have taken a similar stand over the years to uphold Catholic doctrine on an increasingly secular continent”

“When Pope Francis visited Belgium in 2024, he announced he was putting the late King Baudouin on the path to possible sainthood because he abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than approve legislation to legalize abortion”

“Bruni said the 'defense of life' would be one of the themes of Leo’s one-day visit Saturday. But he stressed that Leo’s vision would be in the larger context of defending all life, including in wars and conflicts”

“The visit includes a private meeting with Albert and Princess Charlene at the palace, a meeting with Monaco’s Catholic community in the cathedral and Mass in the sports stadium”

“With Russia’s war in Ukraine raging and the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran spreading, Leo will likely want to repeat his appeal for peace and dialogue to prevail”

“Monaco’s foreign policy enables the Vatican to achieve greater influence”

“Monaco's financial support of initiatives to help Christians in the Middle East, including its participation in the Aliph Foundation, which works in particular to rebuild and restore churches and other sites of cultural importance that get damaged or destroyed by conflict”

“A coastal playground for the rich and famous, Monaco is renowned as much for its tax-friendly incentives and Formula 1 Grand Prix as its glamorous royal family”

“The government has also been a longtime supporter of church projects in Lebanon organized by l’Œuvre d’Orient, a French-based group that supports bishops, priests and religious orders working in 23 countries”

“The son of the late American actress Grace Kelly, Albert spoke in perfect, unaccented English when he visited the Chicago-born Leo at the Vatican on Jan. 17 and invited him to visit”

“Leo will be in Monaco for just under nine hours, and the principality is so close to home that he can get there and back to the Vatican by helicopter”

“Mabille said it is precisely on issues such as the environment where two small states with similar values can work together on the global stage”

“Albert is also a well-known environmental campaigner, and Monaco hosts regular international conferences, especially on the plight of the Mediterranean”

“Monaco's population of 38,000 is heavily Catholic and also multinational, with only a fifth of the population actually citizens of the principality”

“The Holy See has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and only enjoys observer status at the United Nations and other international organizations”

“Monaco hosts environmental forums, scientific conferences, and thematic summits that counterbalance its 'glitzy' image”

“The trip came together quickly after that, and raised eyebrows about why Leo had chosen Monaco, a hereditary and constitutional monarchy, as his first foreign trip in Europe”

“In fact, there are good reasons for Leo to visit, not least because there hasn’t been a pope who visited in 488 years, since Pope Paul III in 1538”

“Leo has strongly carried on Francis’ legacy of ecological stewardship, and the environment is expected to be a topic of discussion”