BALANCE SHEET. At the end of an intense eight-hour trip to the principality, the sovereign pontiff addressed the world with beautiful images and several strong words.
By choosing Monaco as the first destination in Europe, which is moreover on his initiative – his previous trip to Turkey and Lebanon had been planned for Pope Francis – it is an understatement to say that Leo But what was the leader of the Catholics, a former missionary in Peru, going to do in this “periphery” of glamor and bling-bling?
First, we must not overly exaggerate the scope of this move. Certainly, for Monaco, it was a historic first: no pope of the modern era had ever come on an apostolic visit to this small principality. But it was a whirlwind trip: the pope only stayed there for eight hours, after a round trip from Rome by helicopter.
“It’s the little ones who make history!” HAS”
For this American pope, still in the first year of his pontificate (he was elected on May 8, 2025), the goal was to pay homage to one of the micro-states (2 km2, 38,000 inhabitants) with international influence in “soft power” – like the Vatican – what’s more, as Leo XIV pointed out, “ among the rare countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as its state religion ».
« The gift of smallness, with a living spiritual heritage, commits your wealth to the service of law and justice, especially at a historical moment when the demonstration of force and the logic of omnipotence hurt the world and compromise peacelaunched Leo XIV, from the balcony of the princely palace. In the Bible, as you know, it is the little ones who make history! »
Small states. And humble men. In Monaco, the Pope has continued to highlight the most fragile. From the beginning, when he set foot on the soil of this microstate known more for its yachts, its luxury cars and its astronomical real estate prices, he wanted to emphasize social justice – like his predecessor Leo XIII, the pope of the social doctrine of the Church, who had founded the diocese of Monaco.
“The structures of sin that create chasms between poor and rich”
« The Kingdom of God, to which Jesus devoted his life, a lancé Léon XIVis close because it comes among us and shakes the unjust configurations of power, the structures of sin which create chasms between poor and rich, between privileged and rejected, between friends and enemies. Every talent, every opportunity, every good placed in our hands has a universal destination, an intrinsic duty not to be retained but redistributed, so that everyone’s life is better ».
The Pope noted that in his audience today, “ many occupy positions of great influence in the economic and financial fields HAS”. And in passing, he said: “ As Jesus suggests in the parable of the talents, what has been entrusted to us must not be buried in the earth but must be put into circulation and multiplied on the horizon of the Kingdom of God HAS”. Follow the pontifical gaze…
In the following sequence, to the young people gathered in front of the Saint-Dévote church he will say: “ Monaco is a small country, but it can be a great laboratory of solidarity, a window of hope HAS”. To these young people – whom he had expressly asked to meet – he transmitted this formula from Saint Augustine, in whose footsteps this pope follows: “ Love, and do what you want ».
Referring to Carlo Acutis, the young geek recently canonized, the first saint embodying the post-modern era, the pope underlined the virtues of giving, sharing, love. HAS” Aimea-t-il insisté, that is to say, be a free gift to God and to others; be close, don’t move away, even when you can’t solve all the problems or resolve all the difficulties ».
Freeing “unclean idols”
Leo XIV warns this youth, while recognizing the rich and positive contributions of the time in many areas, from culture to health, including technology and communication: “ We live in a world that always seems in a hurry, hungry for new things, which cultivates an unattached fluidity, marked by an almost compulsive need for constant change: in fashion, appearance, relationships, ideas and even in the dimensions of the person which constitute their very identity. But what gives solidity to life is love: the fundamental experience of God’s love above all, then, by extension, the enlightening and sacred experience of mutated love.l ».
A few minutes earlier, in the cathedral, he exhorted Catholics to be witnesses to “ a Church called to become an “advocate”, that is to say, to defend man: the whole man and all human beings » sur « a path of critical and prophetic discernment » aimed at promoting « an integral development of humanity, which respects its dignity and its authentic identity, as well as its ultimate end which refers to the mystery of full communion with the Triune God and among us.”
The highlight of this trip was the mass in a packed Louis II stadium (15,000 people), during which, in a powerful homily, on the eve of Holy Week and the build-up to Easter, the pope called for the purification of ” filthy idols ».
Freeing yourself from idols frees you from a power that becomes domination, from wealth which becomes lust, from beauty which leads to vanity.
« By this terma expliqué Léon XIV, the prophet designates all those things which enslave the heart, which buy it and corrupt it. The word idol means “small idea†, that is to say a reduced vision which diminishes not only the glory of the Almighty, by transforming him into an object, but also the spirit of man. The idolaters are short-sighted people: they look at what captivates their eyes by blinding them. The great and good things of this earth turn into idols which become servitudes, not for those who are deprived of them, but for those who feast on them, leaving their neighbor in misery and sadness. lust, beauty that leads to vanity ».
And at the end of a very spiritual address, Leo XIV launched to the bloodied world: “ Let’s not get used to the clash of arms, to the images of war! Peace is not a simple balance of forces, it is the work of purified hearts, the work of those who see in the other a brother to be protected, and not an enemy to be defeated. HAS”. In short, the responsibility of everyone, whoever they are, wherever they are.
