On a visit to the ‘paradise of millionaires’, Pope Leo XIV calls for sharing wealth with the poorest

Pope Leo XIV participates in a meeting with the Catholic community at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in Monaco Reuters Pope Leo During the visit, the pontiff asked residents to share their wealth and help those most in need. “In the eyes of God, nothing is received in vain!” said the pope. “Every good placed in our hands brings with it the need not to be retained, but shared, so that everyone’s lives can be better.” 🗒️Do you have any reporting suggestions? Send to g1 Leo XIV is the first pope in almost five centuries to visit the rich Mediterranean enclave. According to the Vatican, the trip aims to demonstrate that small countries can exert disproportionate influence on the global stage. The pontiff arrived after a 90-minute helicopter flight from the Vatican and initially met with Prince Albert II of Monaco, the country’s head of state and son of actress Grace Kelly. See the videos that are trending on g1 See the videos that are trending on g1 As an official gesture, the Pope reinforced his message about solidarity by presenting the prince with a colorful work produced by the Vatican’s mosaic studio, depicting Saint Francis of Assisi — the son of a 13th century Italian merchant who renounced his inheritance to help the poor. Among residents who attended the visit, there was an expectation that the pontiff would contribute to reducing global tensions, especially in the face of the war involving Iran. “There is a lot of tension at the moment,” said Jean Claude Haddad, 60. “He can bring people together… he brings people together.” Small crowd accompanies visit Second smallest country in the world, behind only the Vatican, and one of the last to maintain Catholicism as its official religion, Monaco has the highest concentration of billionaires per capita on the planet. In a speech at the prince’s official residence, the pope encouraged residents to “put their prosperity at the service of law and justice”. The agenda was marked by the protocol and pomp typical of papal trips, but with a relatively small audience. Few people followed the pontiff’s journey through the country’s streets, which are just 2.08 square kilometers, covered in an open popemobile. In a meeting with local Catholics, Leo XIV also signaled support for Prince Albert’s decision to veto, last year, a bill that provided for the legalization of abortion — an issue to which the Church is firmly opposed. The pope asked the faithful to continue demonstrating “in defense of the human person”, an expression often used by the Church in debates on abortion and the death penalty. The veto, announced in 2025, was mainly symbolic, as abortion is a guaranteed right in neighboring France. The first American pope, Leo XIV was elected in May to succeed Pope Francis at the helm of the Catholic Church, which has around 1.4 billion believers. The visit to Monaco is only the second outside Italy, but it marks the beginning of an intense international agenda. At 70 years old, the pontiff is considered relatively young and in good health. In April, he will go on a trip to four African countries and, in June, a week-long visit to Spain is planned.

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