From Monaco to Algeria, including stops in Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain, the Vatican unveiled on Wednesday the upcoming travels of Pope Leo XIV. These diverse destinations illustrate the American pope’s desire to reach a broad audience.
Following a year dominated by the Jubilee, the Catholic Church’s “Holy Year” in Rome, the 70-year-old pontiff, elected in May 2025, is beginning a particularly dense year of travel, both within Italy and abroad.
His highly anticipated major African tour, scheduled for April 13 to 23, will begin with a highly symbolic stop in Algeria, marking the first visit by a pope to the country where Islam is the state religion.
Prior to that, on March 28, Leo XIV will make an unprecedented visit to the Principality of Monaco, following an invitation from Prince Albert II. In early June, he will travel to Spain, including a stop in the Canary Islands and a visit to Barcelona for the inauguration of the tallest tower of the Sagrada Familia.
These varied destinations will address multiple themes: inter-religious dialogue, calls for peace, attention to the underprivileged, secularization in Europe, migration, and the environment. These topics are central to Leo XIV, who maintains a more discreet and balanced style than his Argentine predecessor, Francis.
After visiting Algeria (Algiers and Annaba) from April 13 to 15, he will travel to Cameroon (Yaoundé, Bamenda, and Douala) from April 15 to 18, then to Angola from April 18 to 21, and Equatorial Guinea from April 21 to 23. In Angola and Cameroon, which have been marked by major political crises and significant popular unrest, the sovereign pontiff intends to issue calls for peace.
Islam is the state religion in Algeria, a country of 47 million people dominated by the Sunni Maliki doctrine. However, the Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, subject to government approval for places of worship and preachers.
This visit will take place just days after the 30th anniversary of the assassination of the Cistercian monks of Tibhirine (80 km south of Algiers), who were kidnapped in March 1996 from their monastery of Notre-Dame de l’Atlas during the civil war. Their deaths were announced the following May 23 by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and the exact circumstances of their murder remain unclear. They were beatified in 2018.
In December, Leo shared his desire to visit Algeria, particularly to see the places where Saint Augustine (354-430) lived. Augustine, a major thinker of Christianity, served as the Bishop of Hippo, the modern-day city of Annaba in the northeast of the country.
In contrast to the African tour, the visit to Monaco, for which the program has not yet been announced, will be the first by a pope in the contemporary era; no sovereign pontiff has visited since the beginning of apostolic travels in the 1960s.
The second smallest state in the world after the Vatican, the principality covers 2 square kilometers and has approximately 39,000 inhabitants—only a quarter of whom are nationals. Located in southern France on the Mediterranean coast, it combines a Mediterranean climate with luxury, casinos, and Michelin-starred restaurants.
Monaco is one of the few countries where Catholicism is the state religion. Prince Albert II, who was received at the Vatican in January, shares the Holy See’s commitment to environmental protection.
Leo XIV will also visit Spain from June 6 to 12, with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands. The archipelago, located off the coast of West Africa, is a key point on the migration route to Europe.
He is expected to celebrate a Mass in Barcelona on June 10, the date of the inauguration of the tallest tower of the Sagrada Familia, coinciding with the centenary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. The Catalan architect was declared “venerable” by the Church in 2025, the first step toward sainthood.
In addition to these international trips, Leo XIV will also undertake a series of visits within Italy, notably to Naples and Pompeii in May and the island of Lampedusa in July.
DzWatch.
