Historic visit: Pope Leo is first pontiff to visit tiny Catholic state of Monaco in 500 years

Pope Leo made a one-day trip to Monaco on Saturday becoming the first pontiff in nearly five centuries to visit the wealthy Mediterranean enclave on the French Riviera.

He arrived after a 90-minute helicopter ride from the Vatican and met first with Prince Albert, Monaco's head of state and son of the late Hollywood star Grace Kelly.

The second smallest state in the world after the Vatican, and one of the last countries with Catholicism as the state religion, Monaco is globally known as a haven for billionaires and their luxury yachts.

In his speech at Albert's residence, Pope Leo urged Monaco's residents to share their wealth and help those in need.

 Later, in a meeting with local Catholics, the pope appeared to praise Albert's decision last year to veto a Monaco bill that would have legalized abortion, firmly opposed by the Church.

Albert's 2025 veto was largely symbolic, as abortion is a constitutional right in surrounding France.

Pope Leo's events in Monaco were marked by all the usual protocol and pomp of a papal tour abroad. Crowds, however, were relatively thin. Few lined the streets as he toured the 2.08 square kilometer (0.8 square mile) country in an open-air popemobile.

The pope's visit to Monaco is only his second outside Italy, but opens what is expected to be a busy year of travel. He will undertake an ambitious, four-country tour of Africa in April, and is also due to make a week-long visit to Spain in June.

Pope Leo XIV attends a meeting with young people and catechumens outside the Church of Saint Devota, as part of a one-day trip in Monaco, March 28, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Prince Albert II of Monaco, Princess Charlene, Prince Jacques, Princess Gabriella and Pope Leo XIV pose for a photograph at the Prince's Palace during Pope's one-day trip, in Monaco, March 28, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool