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Vatican City — <\/span>Vatican City (AP) – Pope Leo XIV<\/a> Visiting the principality of Monaco on Saturday, he became the first pope to visit the glittering Mediterranean region in nearly five centuries and highlighted how small states can throw their weight around on the global stage.<\/p>\n Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the visit would provide the American Pope with his first real opportunity to speak to all of Europe.<\/p>\n “In the Bible, it’s really the little people who play the important roles,” Bruni said. <\/p>\n Monaco is also one of the few European countries where Catholicism is the official state religion. And Prince Albert recently rejected a proposal to legalize abortion, citing the important role of Catholicism in Monaco society.<\/p>\n The decision was largely symbolic, as abortion is a constitutional rights in france<\/a>Which surrounds the coastal principality of 2.2 square kilometers (about 1 square mile).<\/p>\n By refusing to allow it in Monaco, Albert joins other European Catholic royals who have taken similar stances over the years to preserve Catholic doctrine on an increasingly secular continent. When Pope Francis visits Belgium in 2024, he announced he is putting the late King Baudouin on the path to possible sainthood because he abdicated for a day in 1990 rather than approve legislation to legalize abortion.<\/p>\n Bruni said “protecting life” would be one of the themes of Leo’s one-day visit on Saturday. But he stressed that Leo’s approach would take place within the larger context of protecting all life, including wars and conflicts.<\/p>\n The visit includes a private meeting with Albert and Princess Charlene at the palace, a meeting with Monaco’s Catholic community at the cathedral and Mass at the sports stadium.<\/p>\n A coastal playground for the rich and famous, Monaco is equally famous for its tax-friendly incentives formula 1 grand prix<\/a> As is its glamorous royal family. When Albert, the son of the late American actress Grace Kelly, visited Chicago-born Leo at the Vatican on January 17 and invited him to visit, he spoke in perfect, unaccented English.<\/p>\n The trip ended soon thereafter and eyebrows were raised as to why Leo chose Monaco, a hereditary and constitutional monarchy, for his first trip abroad in Europe. Pope Francis also loved traveling to smaller countries, but the glitz factor of Monaco may have put him off.<\/p>\n “It raises questions,” acknowledged Abb\u00e9 Christian Venard, a spokesman for the Monaco diocese. “Is it really a place for a Pope to go to a principality that is known as a haven for billionaires \u2013 somewhat ridiculous \u2013 even though that is part of the reality of Monaco? I think it reflects some internal independence from the Pope,” he told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Indeed, there are good reasons for Leo’s visit, not least because there has been no Pope in the 488 years since Pope Paul III in 1538 who has visited.<\/p>\n Monaco’s population of 38,000 is overwhelmingly Catholic and also multiracial, with only one fifth of the population actually being citizens of the principality.<\/p>\n Leo will only be in Monaco for less than nine hours, and the principality is close enough to home that he can get there and back to the Vatican by helicopter. But the visit is rich with symbolic significance, as it represents the leaders of the world’s two smallest states coming together to talk about some of the world’s biggest problems.<\/p>\n As Russia’s war in Ukraine escalates US-Israel war in Iran<\/a> Expanding, Leo will probably want to repeat his appeal for peace and dialogue.<\/p>\n Bruni said, “The role of the principality remains largely the same, in promoting dialogue and mediation, serving as a laboratory for peace, social friendship, and the responsible use of influence and wealth.”<\/p>\n This is a reference to Monaco’s financial support of initiatives to help Christians in the Middle East, including its participation in the Alif Foundation, which works specifically to rebuild and restore churches and other sites of cultural importance that are damaged or destroyed by the conflict.<\/p>\n The government has also been a long-time supporter of church projects in Lebanon organized by L’Ouvre d’Orient, a French-based group that supports bishops, priests and religious orders working in 23 countries.<\/p>\n Albert is also a well-known environmental campaigner, and Monaco regularly hosts international conferences, particularly on the plight of the Mediterranean Sea. Leo builds on Francis’ legacy<\/a> Ecological management and environment are expected to be the topic of discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that Monaco hosts environmental forums, scientific conferences and thematic summits makes sense and effectively balances the somewhat \u2018flashy\u2019 image that the event may initially convey,\u201d said Fran\u00e7ois Mabille, director of the Geopolitical Observatory of Religion at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.<\/p>\n Mabilly said it is certainly on issues such as the environment where two small states with similar values \u200b\u200bcan work together on the global stage, especially since the Holy See has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality and only has observer status at the United Nations and other international organizations.<\/p>\n “It’s interesting to know that there is actually a Monaco foreign policy that could, in a way, enable or allow the Vatican to move forward,” Mabilly said.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Courbet contributed from Paris.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n