Apostolic Journeys
Upcoming
Past
Apostolic Journey to Africa — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the fastest-growing Catholic population on earth — over 280 million faithful, nearly one-fifth of all Catholics worldwide — and Pope Leo XIV's 11-day journey to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea placed the African Church at the centre of his pontificate. Previous popes have made landmark visits: John Paul II travelled to Africa 14 times; Benedict XVI twice; but Algeria had never received a papal visit until now. The journey's themes — peace, evangelisation, migration, and ecology — carry special resonance in Angola, where Catholicism has been present since 1491 and roughly 70% of the population is Catholic, and in Equatorial Guinea, where the figure exceeds 90%. Cameroon hosts some 11 million Catholics served by eight ecclesiastical provinces, making it one of Central Africa's most important Churches.
Apostolic Journey to Monaco
The Principality of Monaco had not received a papal visit since John Paul II stepped ashore in 1985 — making Pope Leo XIV's one-day stop on 28 March 2026 the first in 41 years. Despite its footprint of just 2.5 km², Monaco is one of Europe's most Catholic territories: over 80% of its 38,000 residents profess the faith, served by a diocese established in 1887 under the Archbishop of Monaco. The visit centred on diplomacy and witness — the Holy Father brought a message of peace, integral ecology, and the responsibility of prosperous nations to act as bridges of dialogue rather than islands of privilege.
Apostolic Journey to Turkey and Lebanon
Turkey and Lebanon have been at the heart of papal diplomacy for decades: Paul VI met Patriarch Athenagoras in Istanbul in 1964 in the first papal-patriarchal encounter since 1054, John Paul II visited Turkey in 1979, and Francis met Patriarch Bartholomew there in 2014. Turkey is home to around 150,000 Catholics — a small minority in a nation of 85 million — while Lebanon's Christian communities, including some 1.7 million Maronites, represent roughly one-third of its population. Pope Leo XIV's journey focused on two pillars: deepening ecumenical dialogue at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and expressing solidarity with Lebanon's Church as the country rebuilds from the 2020 Beirut port explosion and years of economic and political crisis. The journey recalled John Paul II's declaration that Lebanon is 'more than a country — it is a message'.