Image: from FRANCE 24 English X @France24_en
By OPEN CHRONICLE STAFF with Agencies
MONTE CARLO, Monaco — In a historic visit to the sun-drenched Mediterranean enclave, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday urged the residents of Monaco to leverage their immense wealth and influence to uphold the sanctity of life and promote peace in a world increasingly scarred by “the logic of oppression.”
The one-day apostolic journey marked the first time a pontiff had set foot in the principality since Pope Paul III in 1538. As a ceremonial cannon fire echoed across the marina, home to some of the world’s most famous megayachts, Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene met the Holy Father at the Monaco heliport.
The ‘Privilège du Blanc’
The arrival was steeped in centuries of Vatican protocol. At the Prince’s Palace, the royal family gathered in the courtyard to receive the Pope. Princess Charlene appeared in white, exercising the “le privilège du blanc”, a rare diplomatic perk granted only to Catholic sovereign queens and princesses when meeting a pope.
Greeting a cheering crowd from the palace balcony, Leo XIV noted that while Monaco is physically small, its moral and financial stature carries global weight. He praised the principality’s “gift of smallness” and challenged its citizens to be a beacon of conscience at a “historical moment when the display of power and the logic of oppression are harming the world and jeopardizing peace.”
Defending Catholic Doctrine
The Pope’s message carried a sharp focus on traditional Catholic teaching. Speaking in French at the Cathedral of Our Lady Immaculate, Leo XIV delivered a firm defense of the “sanctity of life,” a term the Vatican uses to underscore its opposition to abortion and euthanasia.
“May the life of every man and woman be defended and promoted from conception until natural death,” the Pope told the congregation.
The remarks were particularly resonant in Monaco, one of the few European nations where Catholicism remains the official state religion. Prince Albert recently drew international attention for refusing a proposal to legalize abortion within the principality, a move seen as a significant stand for Catholic doctrine on an increasingly secular continent. While the decision is largely symbolic—given that abortion is a constitutional right in surrounding France, it aligns Albert with other European royals, such as the late King Baudouin of Belgium, whom the Church has praised for similar stances.
A Glamorous Enclave Meets the Papacy
Despite the somber tone of the theological message, the atmosphere in the one-square-mile principality was festive. Thousands of Monaco’s 38,000 residents, a multinational population of which only a fifth are citizens, lined the streets waving Vatican and Monégasque flags as the open-sided popemobile made its way to a stadium Mass.
The Pope, known for his punctuality, was overheard lightheartedly noting that his flight had landed three minutes late. Prince Albert, the son of the late American actress Grace Kelly, greeted the pontiff in perfect, unaccented English before the two retreated for a private meeting to discuss Monaco’s role in international diplomacy.
As the “Leo Era” continues to define itself through a blend of high-level diplomacy and a return to core moral mandates, the visit to Monaco serves as a reminder that the Vatican still views Europe’s traditional Catholic monarchies as vital partners in its global mission.