For his first international trip of 2026, Pope Leo XIV took a day trip to Monaco.
He met with Prince Albert II. The two represent the two smallest countries in the world. The pontiff visited for nine hours in an effort to show how two small countries can make a large impact on the world.
Prince Albert and Leo met in January at the Vatican. They both have something in common — the United States. Prince Albert’s mother, Grace Kelly, was an American. The pontiff is from Chicago. Catholicism is the official religion of the small nation.
During his stay, Leo was able to visit the Prince’s Palace, meet with teens and celebrate a Mass at Louis II Stadium.
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During his homily, he urged the billionaire residents to share their wealth and let go of “idols”.
“Idolaters are thus narrow-minded people who look at what captivates their gaze, ultimately darkening it,” Leo preached during his homily. “Liberation from idols is thus deliverance from power understood as dominion, from wealth turned into greed, from vanity masquerading as beauty.”
Prior to the Mass, the pope gave the prince artwork created at the Vatican. The mosaic is St. Francis of Assisi — Francis was a wealthy Italian who gave up his money to help those in need.
During his message regarding idols, Leo also pointed to the ongoing wars.
“Idolatry makes people slaves of each other, but purification from idolatry sanctifies them,” he said. “It is a gift of grace that makes people children of God, and brothers and sisters to one another. This gift sheds light on our present, for the wars that stain it with blood are the fruit of the idolatry of power and money.”
This the first time in nearly 500 years a pope has visited Monaco. It was Pope Paul III who made the trip in 1538.
