{"id":688450,"date":"2026-03-28T18:25:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T18:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/688450\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T18:25:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T18:25:15","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-uses-visit-to-monaco-to-urge-it-to-use-its-wealth-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/688450\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV uses visit to Monaco to urge it to use its wealth for good"},"content":{"rendered":"

MONACO (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV<\/a> urged residents of the principality of Monaco on Saturday to use their wealth and influence for good and reject the \u201cidolatry of power and money\u201d that is fueling wars around the world.<\/p>\n

Leo made a one-day trip to the glitzy Mediterranean enclave, becoming the first pope to visit since Pope Paul III came in 1538. <\/p>\n

Prince Albert and Princess Charlene met Leo at the Monaco heliport, just down the coast from the marina that is home to the megayachts of the rich and famous<\/a>. To celebrate his arrival, a cannon boomed in a ceremonial salute and boats in the marina sounded foghorns that at one point interrupted Leo\u2019s remarks. <\/p>\n

At the palace, members of the royal family stood in the courtyard to greet Leo, the women dressed in black and with lace head coverings. Charlene wore white \u2014 a protocol privilege granted by the Vatican to Catholic royal sovereigns when meeting popes, known in diplomatic terms as \u201cle privil\u00e8ge du blanc.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his opening greeting from the palace balcony, Leo urged Monaco to use its wealth, influence and \u201cgift of smallness\u201d to do good in the world. <\/p>\n

It was important, he said in French, \u201cespecially at a historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

A reference to abortion in Monaco<\/p>\n

Speaking later in the cathedral, Leo urged Monaco\u2019s Catholics to spread their faith \u201cso that the life of every man and woman may be defended and promoted from conception until natural death,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Such terms are used by the Vatican to refer to Catholic teaching opposing abortion and euthanasia.<\/p>\n

Monaco is 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\u2019s society.<\/p>\n

The decision was largely symbolic because abortion is a constitutional right in France<\/a>, which surrounds the coastal principality of 2.2 square kilometers (about 1 square mile).<\/p>\n

But 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.<\/p>\n

Pope urges Monaco to reject idolatry of war<\/p>\n

A coastal playground for the rich and famous, Monaco is renowned as much for its tax-friendly incentives and Formula 1 Grand Prix<\/a> as its glamorous royal family. The son of the late American actress Grace Kelly, Albert spoke in perfect, unaccented English when he greeted Leo at the heliport. Leo was heard noting that he landed three minutes late.<\/p>\n

Leo\u2019s visit was designed to highlight how small states such as Monaco and the Holy See can punch above their weight on the global stage. Leo used his homily at Mass in the Monaco stadium to do just that, urging the faithful to reject the type of idolatry that has enslaved people in cycles of war and injustice.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s wars, \u201cstained with blood, are the fruit of the idolatry of power and money.,\u201d he said. \u201cLet us not grow accustomed to the clamor of weapons and images of war! Peace is not merely a balance of power; it is the work of purified hearts, of those who see others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though small, Monaco has made its mark as a strong campaigner for environmental protection as well as a supporter of initiatives to help Christians in the Middle East. It is a partner 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.<\/p>\n

The government has also been a longtime supporter of church projects in Lebanon organized by l\u2019\u0152uvre d\u2019Orient, a French-based group that supports bishops, priests and religious orders working in 23 countries.<\/p>\n

Monaco\u2019s population of 38,000 is heavily Catholic and multinational, with only a fifth of the population actually citizens of the principality. On a sunny spring day, many people flocked to the palace grounds to greet Leo, and some lined the streets to wave Vatican and Monaco flags as his open-sided popemobile passed by.<\/p>\n

Claudine Fiori, Monaco resident, said it was a privilege and an emotional boost to welcome a pope. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis Highness invited him and he came and it was a beautiful surprise,\u201d Fiori said. \u201cThanks to the pope for coming here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Enrico Doja, a Monaco resident of Italian origin, said he appreciated that Leo spoke in French throughout the day. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that he is close to the people,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd nowadays the world is unfortunately run mainly by people who are \u2018one man show,\u2019 and his role is to say \u2018we have to do things together.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Winfield reported from Rome.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MONACO (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV urged residents of the principality of Monaco on Saturday to use their…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":688451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[20496,288706,111128,288705,57,83818,19831,50,20211,3417,288707,365,45980,103,107],"class_list":["post-688450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-catholic-church","tag-claudine-fiori","tag-cultural-preservation","tag-enrico-doja","tag-general-news","tag-grace-kelly","tag-monaco","tag-news","tag-pope-francis","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-prince-albert","tag-religion","tag-royalty","tag-world","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}