At 9:04 in the morning, the helicopter of the Holy See carrying the pontiff landed in the Principality of Monaco, kicking off Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic journey of 2026.
After being received at the heliport by Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene—who made use of the so-called “privilege of white” held by women of Catholic monarchies—they proceeded to the Prince’s Palace, or Grimaldi Palace, the official residence.
There, they were welcomed by a huge crowd of Monaco citizens who had been eagerly waiting for Pope Leo. It is always exciting for a nation to welcome a pope, but even more so when it is the first visit in history.
After holding a private meeting, the two leaders stepped out onto the main balcony of the Palace to recall the bond that unites their two states:
POPE LEO XIV
You are among the rare countries in the world that have the Catholic faith as a state religion. It places us before the sovereignty of Jesus, which calls Christians to become in the world a kingdom of brothers and sisters, a presence that does not crush but uplifts, that does not divide but connects, always ready to protect with love every human life, at every moment and in all conditions, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity.
Moreover, Pope Leo emphasized that despite the growing secularization in the West, religion and faith can offer a new perspective from which to confront problems and adversity:
POPE LEO XIV
Even in a culture that is not very religious and highly secularized, the way of approaching the typical problems of the social Magisterium can reveal the great light of the Gospel.
It was an exciting start to the journey, in which Pope Leo XIV did not hesitate to use the official language of the state, French, to address all the people of Monaco and to express his joy at visiting this Mediterranean country for the first time.
