Two trips to Europe and then Africa: Pope Leo XIV embraces two continents in his next three international apostolic visits, which from the end of March to June will take him to the Principality of Monaco and four African countries, which the Pope will “visit” in a single eleven-day trip.
And then to Spain, where he will stay for seven days at the beginning of June: first in Madrid and Barcelona, where he will also inaugurate the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia; and then in the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
In the Principality of Monaco
From Saturday 28 March 2026, on the eve of Holy Week, for a few hours, in the small state along the French Riviera, at the invitation of the Head of State of the Principality of Monaco, Prince Albert II, and the Archbishop of the Principality of Monaco, Mgr Dominique-Marie David. The Principality’s commitment to peace is significant, as it will welcome a Pope for the first time in the modern era.
Cathedral of the Diocese of the Principality of Monaco
In Africa to give voice to the poor and persecuted
On the occasion of the Jubilee of Popular Movements, Leo XIV explained that there is a need to “see ‘new things’ from the periphery”. From 13 to 23 April, the Popechooses the peripheries of the planet to look at the social issues that shake the contemporary world: the peripheries of Africa:eleven days in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea
The journey, which will begin after in Albis Sunday, will be far-reaching, both in terms of its duration and the number of countries the Pontiff will visit.
Peace will be one of the key words on a continent wounded by conflicts, ethnic clashes and “tribalism”, from which Leo XIV wants to relaunch his appeals for harmony. It is the ecumenism of blood that Leo XIV will encounter on the continent.
A continent marked by the persecution of Christians, which ‘remains one of the most widespread human rights crises today’ and which has worsened in the last year ‘due to ongoing conflicts, authoritarian regimes and religious extremism,’ he explained in January before the diplomatic corps.
The trip to Africa will coincide with the anniversary of Pope Francis’ death on 21 April, which Leo XIV will commemorate during his visit.
The Church that the Pontiff will find will be ‘alive, strong and dynamic,’ he has already explained in a message to the African episcopate. It is a Church that is growing: in just one year, African Catholics have increased from 272 million to 281 million.
It is also a Church that is called to promote ‘reconciliation and true communion among different ethnic groups.’
Because, said the Pope, referring to his past as a missionary, ‘as bishop in Peru, I am happy to have experienced an ecclesial community that accompanies people in their sorrows, their joys, their struggles and their hopes. This is an antidote to a structural indifference that does not take seriously the drama of peoples who are stripped, robbed and plundered.’ Now he returns as a “missionary” Pope to a corner of the world that needs to counter the “globalisation of powerlessness” with a “culture of reconciliation and commitment”.
Today, about 20% of the world’s Catholics live in Africa
And this percentage is growing: between 2022 and 2023, African Catholics will increase from 272 to 281 million (+3.31%), the highest rate of any region. A quarter of the world’s Christians are already in sub-Saharan Africa, and studies estimate that this figure will reach 40% by 2060. The impetus comes not only from conversions, but also from the youth and fertility of the African population.
Worldwide, one in three seminarians is African, and overall Africa now provides priests and religious missionaries to European and North American dioceses, reversing the missionary flow of the 20th century.
DR Congo and Nigeria are emerging as pillars: approximately 55 million Catholics in the former and 35 million in the latter, with hundreds of ordinations per year in Nigeria according to diocesan data and church reports.
In Spain for the inauguration of the Sagrada Familia
The visit to Spain will last a week, following an invitation from King Philip VI and the local Church. The trip will take place from 6 to 12 June.
The Pope will stop in Madrid and then Barcelona to ‘bless’ the new and tallest tower of the Sagrada Familia, the monumental basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí, the ‘architect of God’ whose centenary of death is celebrated on 10 June (the date on which Leo XIV would enter the new temple) and who was declared venerable in 2025.
The strong sign of Algeria
Within this framework, a ‘historic first’ with the visit to Algeria, which speaks to the Muslim world and recalls the Augustinian heritage as a bridge between Christian memory and today’s coexistence.
It is a journey in the name of St Augustine, the martyrs of Algeria and Islamic-Christian dialogue.
Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, was contacted by the Religious Information Service of the Italian Episcopal Conference a few hours after the announcement of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Algeria:
“I myself had invited the Pope to come to Algiers since the day of his election: he was elected on 8 May, which coincides with the liturgical feast of the 19 martyrs of Algeria.
Among them is Christian de Chergé, prior of the monks of Tibhirine. The Pope knows their story well and, in his message for World Peace Day, he quoted a phrase from Christian de Chergé: “Disarm your hands, disarm your hearts”. Among the 19 blessed are also two Augustinian sisters who were murdered. It is therefore a story he knows deeply.
Then, of course, Algeria is the land of St Augustine. Coming here means arriving in the land of St Augustine, a figure who has great weight and relevance in today’s world. However, I do not believe this is a personal pilgrimage: it is a journey with a broader meaning. Finally, he himself explained the reasons for this choice during the return flight from his first trip to Lebanon. He said: “Personally, I hope to go to Algeria to visit the places of Saint Augustine, but also to continue the dialogue, to build bridges between the Christian and Muslim worlds.
Algeria is also a country bordering the Mediterranean, which is very important to him. His very first trips – Lebanon, Turkey and now Algeria – have all taken place on the Mediterranean coast: this is a significant factor.”
