Pope in Monaco: Wealth of the Gospel, riches of the earth must be shared

MONACO (CNS) -- Built behind fortresses and perched on precipitous rock, the tiny principality of Monaco has survived centuries of invasions, revolutions and world wars, but now this prestigious Mediterranean haven must reach out and share its faith and its riches, Pope Leo XIV said.

"You are among the few countries in the world to have the Catholic faith as a state religion," he said at the start of his one-day visit March 28 to the world's second smallest independent state, almost five times larger than Vatican City.

Jesus calls Christians to become "a kingdom of brothers and sisters -- a presence that does not cast down but raises up, that does not separate but connects, always ready to protect every human life with love, at any time and in any condition, so that no one is ever excluded from the table of fraternity," he said from a small window of the Prince's Palace to the hundreds of residents and visitors gathered in the huge square below. 

For his first apostolic journey of 2026, Pope Leo chose Monaco -- a glitzy, glamorous resort on the French Riviera famous for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix and the Monte Carlo Casino. With stringent rules for residency, it is home to millionaires, and it has the highest nominal GDP per capita in the world.

Scheduled during Lent and almost three weeks before an intense trip to Africa, the pope's 10-hour trip to this center of luxury reflected a journey calling for purification and conversion.

With two speeches and two homilies spoken in fluent French, Pope Leo's strongest words came at the end, during Mass in the Louis II Stadium.

Reflecting on the day's Gospel reading of the decision of the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus after he brought Lazarus back to life, Pope Leo noted how even today so many "plots are devised" and justified around the world "to kill the innocent."

But just as Jesus gave Lazarus new life, God, too, can rescue dead, deceived or hardened hearts with his mercy, he said. 

Power becomes dominion or wealth becomes greed or beauty becomes vanity, he said, when people "gorge themselves" and become enslaved to "the great and wonderful things of this earth," leaving their neighbor "in misery and sorrow."

The wars staining the earth with blood are "the fruit of the idolatry of power and money," the pope said; peace requires a purified heart and the ability to see "others as brothers and sisters to be protected, not enemies to be defeated."

"In the world's prolonged Lent, when evil rages and idolatry makes hearts indifferent, the Lord prepares his Easter," he said. The Risen Christ welcomes the sinner and sustains their pilgrimage and the Church's mission "to give God's life" by giving "our lives to our neighbor."

While the small nation has just under 40,000 residents, another 57,000 people commute daily from France and Italy to work there. Both residents and workers come from more than 150 countries.

Archbishop Dominique-Marie David of Monaco said the church pew is a kind of equalizer where "a millionaire and a maid can be sitting side by side."

"One of the rarest places of authentic social mingling in the principality is in the Christian community," he wrote in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, March 27.

Pope Leo encouraged the faithful to guard against religious practices becoming a mere habit. 

An authentic, "living" faith truly defends all people, protects life at all stages, and it makes sure the "current economic and social model" is equitable, just and marked by solidarity, he told them during a gathering in the immense stone Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception -- the final resting place of Philadelphia-born Princess Grace Kelly and her husband, Prince Rainier III.

The city's narrow, cliff-hugging streets did not hold many sightseers, but the four locations the pope visited were full of enthusiastic, but not raucous, crowds.

He shook hands with scores of young people and catechumens in front of the Church of Sainte Dévote, which honors a young woman martyred in 304 and the patron saint of Monaco. The archdiocese had about 70 catechumens preparing for baptism, first Communion and confirmation this year.

Pope Leo encouraged them to "give everything -- your time, your energy -- to God and to your brothers and sisters." It is only through this complete self-giving, he said, that one finds real joy and meaning in life. 

"The world needs your witness to overcome the errors of our time, face its challenges and, above all, to rediscover the sweet taste of loving God and neighbor," he said. 

"Monaco is a small country, but it can be a great place of solidarity and a beacon of hope," he said. "Incorporate the Gospel into the choices you make at work and in your social and political commitments in order to give a voice to the voiceless, thereby spreading a culture of care."

He told them to look to St. Devota and St. Carlo Acutis, whom the pope canonized last September, for inspiration.

Love gives stability in a world "that seems to be in a hurry, eager for novelty, obsessed with unfettered fluidity," he said.

The world "is marked by an almost compulsive need for constant change, be it in fashions, appearances, relationships, ideas or even the dimensions of the person that are essential to their very identity," he said.

"We must clear the doorway of the heart" of fleeting, ephemeral things, he said, "so that the healthy, life-giving air of grace can return to refresh and revitalize its chambers, and so that the strong wind of the Holy Spirit can once again fill the 'sails' of our existence, propelling us towards true happiness."