Pope brings pro-poor message to swanky Monaco

VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo XIV heads on March 28 to the Mediterranean principality of Monaco, a millionaires’ playground on the French Riviera that is the pontiff’s surprise pick for the first western European trip of his papacy.

The US-born Pope, a former missionary critical of the wealthy elite, will helicopter in for a day in the world’s second-smallest state, best known for its casinos, luxury yachts and Michelin-starred dining.

In Monte Carlo, billboards featuring mild-mannered, white-cassocked Pope Leo will stand in stark contrast to gleaming sports cars and throngs of tourists, many unaware of the papal visit.

Ms Isabel Fissore, a 62-year-old owner of a small jewellery shop, told AFP she was excited about Pope Leo’s whirlwind trip from the Vatican – itself the world’s smallest state.

“It’s historic, the two smallest states in the world coming together to spread the message of peace, light and love throughout the world,” she said.

“We may be a small state, but we are big at heart.”

Platform to the world

Monaco is one of the few places in Europe where Catholicism remains the state religion, and it has longstanding diplomatic ties with the Holy See.

Though only around 8 per cent of citizens identify as practising Catholics, church pews are one of the few places where billionaires, cleaning ladies and construction workers mingle.

The principality is a densely populated melting pot: Nearly 40,000 people live in the state’s 2 sq km, including around 8,000 Monegasques, more than 8,000 Italians and nearly 10,000 French nationals.

With around 140 nationalities in all, it is a place where Pope Leo will encounter “other cultures, other countries, other origins, other languages”, Archbishop of Monaco Dominique-Marie David told a press conference on March 27.

“The Holy Father’s travels... always have repercussions beyond our borders, so he also knows that Monaco can be, in a manner of speaking, a small platform to the world,” he said.

Pope Leo is expected to talk about the environment – a cause dear to Prince Albert II – as well as “the protection of life in all its forms”, according to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

That will range from a condemnation of abortion – which is illegal in the principality – and euthanasia, to pleas for an end to conflicts, one month after the start of the Middle East war.

Emotion, energy

Monaco’s government is spending between €5 million (S$7.4 million) and €6 million on the event, installing giant screens and deploying more than 90 per cent of Monaco’s police and firefighters.

Pope Leo will be driven in his “popemobile” up Grimaldi Street, where shop windows are decked in the Vatican’s yellow and white.

Ms Joelle Burgagni, a 20-year-old Italian student, told AFP she “hopes for advice” from Pope Leo on “how to live” her faith.

“This visit gives me a lot of emotion, a lot of energy,” she said.

The Pope will start his trip at the Prince’s Palace, the official residence of the Grimaldi dynasty, where he will meet Prince Albert II.

After a greeting from the balcony, he will go to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to meet the Catholic community, then to the square in front of the Church of Saint Devota, dedicated to the patron saint of Monaco.

The highlight will be an open-air mass at the Louis II Stadium, expected to be attended by 15,000 people.

The trip falls one week before Easter, the most important festival in the Christian calendar, and Catholic watchers say turnout will help gauge the US Pope’s popularity compared to his more outspoken predecessor Francis. AFP