Pope Leo XIV: Monaco bears vocation to foster social friendship

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV arrived by helicopter at the heliport of the Principality of Monaco on Saturday morning at the start of his one-day Apostolic Journey.

Prince Albert II of Monaco greeted the Holy Father before offering him an official welcome at the Prince’s Palace, where the two men held talks and then greeted the thousands of people gathered in the square in front of the Palace.

In his address, Pope Leo recalled that he is the first Pope of the modern era to visit Monaco, which is one of the few European nations to have the Catholic faith as its State religion, though freedom of worship is guaranteed.

Given this deep bond between the Church of Rome and Monaco, the Pope said he entrusts the Principality with deepening its commitment to the Social Doctrine of the Church and carrying it out at the international level.

“Even in cultures that are not very religious and are highly secularized,” he said, “the approach to problems characteristic of this Social Doctrine can reveal the great light that the Gospel brings to our time—a time in which many find it difficult to hope.”

Pope Leo recalled that Monaco overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, and he encouraged the small nation to embrace its “vocation to promote encounter and to foster social friendship.”

“The gift of smallness and a living spiritual heritage,” he said, “invite you to put your prosperity at the service of law and justice, especially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.”

The Pope invited residents of Monaco to never give in to a sense of powerlessness but rather to embrace their faith amid historic challenges and responsibilities.

Monaco’s pluralistic makeup, he said, makes it a microcosm, where a vibrant minority of local people and a majority of foreign citizens contribute to the Principality's well-being.

“Within your community, many people hold positions of considerable influence in the economic and financial spheres,” he said. “Many are engaged in various kinds of service, and there are numerous visitors and tourists.”

Pope Leo noted that the Kingdom of God shakes up the “unjust configurations of power and structures of sin that create chasms between the poor and the rich, between the privileged and the discarded, between friends and enemies.”

Recalling Monaco’s Catholic heritage, he said Jesus’ sovereignty raises up all people and connects us, so that everyone is called to protect every human life with love and none are excluded.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV encouraged Monaco to show the world the depth of Catholic Social Teaching, in order to promote social progress and guide the life of humanity.