Pope’s visit to Monaco signals both a message, and a reminder

ROME – Aside from being the residence of tennis legend Jannik Sinner, for most observers the visit of Pope Leo XIV, himself an avid tennis player and enthusiast, to the small city-state of Monaco this Saturday is something of a mystery.

Known as a swanky and luxurious haven for social elites, where hotel rooms can cost up to 7-10,000 euros ($8-11,500) a night, Monaco is a curious choice for Leo’s first trip within Europe, as he has already distinguished himself, in his missionary background and documents and declarations.

However, the tiny nation – the second smallest in the world after Vatican City – is a Catholic country, where Catholicism has been constitutionally declared as the state religion, and a complete melting pot of cultures and backgrounds.

In that sense, the visit of a pope who spent his life serving the most impoverished communities in Peru is a reminder that there is more to life than money, but highlighting the resurgence of Catholicism in the country will highlight the foundational Christian values of Europe as it grapples with its identity following decades of rampant secularism.

Speaking to Vatican News, the Vatican’s official state-run information platform, the Archbishop of Monaco, Dominique-Marie David, said recently that when he preaches, he tries to remind his flock that “the Catholic faith is not only a cultural identity or a historical heritage.”

“It is also a responsibility that affects our way of living, our choices, and our discernment,” he said.

In this sense, David says he often tries to convince Catholics in his diocese to adopt “a new perspective” in which “it is not enough to call oneself Catholic, nor to be proud of being so.”

“One must also grasp its consequences in the way we look at the world, at others – especially the poorest – and in the coherence of our life. Faith entails consequences and asks for a true coherence of life, as the Gospel proposes to us.”

An exercise in dialogue

Pope Leo’s whirlwind visit to Monaco, which holds the theme, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” is a jam-packed nine-hour daytrip in which he will engage local leadership and the small but majority Catholic community.

He will leave the Vatican by helicopter at 7a.m., arriving in Monaco two hours later, where he will be welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlène, before paying a brief courtesy visit to the prince.

Afterward, Leo will hold a meeting with the Catholic community in Monaco before meeting with young people and catechists.

His quick daytrip will culminate with Mass in the city-state’s Louis II’ Stadium before he boards his helicopter back to Vatican City, where he is expected to arrive just before 8p.m. local time. He will open Holy Week liturgies with Palm Sunday Mass the next day.

Leo, a defender of the poor and marginalized, is the first pope to visit Monaco in recent times, a seeming contradiction, as the place is known mostly for its luxurious venues, swank yachts, and gambling scene.

Ties between the world’s two smallest city-states date back to the Middle Ages, and they not only share Catholicism as the official state religion, but they maintain shared priorities such as interfaith dialogue and defense of the environment.

This emphasis on dialogue is expected to be a core theme of the trip, which a Vatican spokesman recently described as “a laboratory of peace,” given the Mediterranean nation’s extremely diverse composition.

According to David, some 150 nationalities are present in the tiny, two-square-kilometer territory, meaning “the wider world is present in this small space.”

Seen as a city of luxury, Monaco, David argued, is rich not just in the material sense, but “its wealth derives from the great variety of origins and also from a certain social mixing.”

“I believe that, also for the Pope, visiting such a small country can have an important meaning, since he addresses the whole world,” he said.

The pope’s mission, he said, is ultimately “to bring the Gospel, strengthen the faith, and spread a message of peace and of the dignity of the human person. It is therefore likely that the echo of such a visit will go beyond the borders of our small State.”

Poverty in luxury and a reminder of values

Given Monaco’s Catholic roots, large crowds relative to its population of around 39,000 are expected to turn out for the papal events, especially his closing Mass Saturday afternoon.

Nestled inside of France, Monaco has seen a resurgence of Catholicism in recent years, which Philippe Orengo, Monaco’s ambassador to the Holy See, believes is one reason that inspired Leo to visit.

Speaking to AFP, Orengo said the pope “wanted to see for himself what is happening in Monaco, where this movement of renewal is based on an embraced faith, and on an inclusive popular piety and devotion.”

The deep cultural Catholicism in Monaco and the faith’s revival there is something of a marvel for Europe, which is home to some of the world’s most progressive laws on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, and were many Mediterranean nations maintain staunchly anti-migrant policies.

France itself has faced sharp criticism from not only Catholic but broader Christian conservative circles in recent years over its decision in March 2024 to become the first nation to explicitly guarantee a constitutional right to abortion, as well as its decision later that year to include a drag parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famed Last Supper in the opening ceremony for the summer Olympics.

Despite its Catholic culture, abortion has been decriminalized in Monaco, prostitution is currently legal, and much of the nation’s wealth has come from casinos.

In that sense, David said the pope’s visit can encourage Catholics to look beyond material goods at the needs that exist, and to return to the core principles of Christian spirituality.

When trying to get a message across to a unique flock like that of Monaco, “it is essential is that the person be challenged interiorly and that the heart open itself to a word capable of awakening, converting, and orienting life toward others.”

“We cannot always see the results immediately, but we know that many listen and that, little by little, a path can open,” David said, saying this slow progress is visible “from the growing number of people who ask for Baptism or wish to reconnect with the Church.”

Despite Monaco’s wealth, David said there is poverty that goes beyond “the stereotypes and images spread by the media.”

Material poverty exists, including among those who work in Monaco but struggle to afford the high cost of living and find themselves in base conditions.

However, there are also other, existential forms of poverty, David said, such as problems that often come with material wealth such as “loneliness and the crisis of the meaning of life.”

“When one enjoys a certain well-being and does not have great material worries, other questions emerge: what meaning should one give to one’s existence? It is not rare to meet people who suffer from loneliness,” he said.

David noted that many families, despite outward appearances, are impacted by issues such as separation and other familial crises, which touch rich and poor alike.

“For this reason, our task is to remain attentive to these hidden poverties, to take care of one another, and to know how to recognize situations of fragility which, even if not always visible, are real and at times very painful,” he said.

Associations such as Caritas, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, the Legion of Mary, as well as a variety of other ecclesial and civil associations are present in Monaco and care for children and families in difficulty, the elderly, and the sick.

Summing Pope Leo’s coming visit up in two Gospel images, David said the first one is the shepherd who goes out in search of the lost sheep.

It is the church’s duty, “to mobilize all our energies – priests, laity, parishes, and movements – so that the Good News may reach also those who seem furthest away or unlikely,” he said, saying the papal trip will send a strong message in this regard.

He also pointed to the Gospel narrative of Zacchaeus, a tax collector looked down on by the people, but with whom Jesus dined, inside of his home, sharing the Gospel even with those seen as being part of the system of injustice at the time.

“Jesus chooses to enter the house of a person who did not enjoy a great reputation, even though he was rich and socially important. He does so simply to make him discover the beauty and joy of the Gospel,” David said.

It is through closeness and friendship that Jesus sends the message that the Gospel “is already present and is entering into his life and into his heart,” David said, voicing his belief that, in this sense, the pope’s visit to Monaco “will be a great grace.”