Pope Leo XIV to Visit San Marino, Attend Major Catholic Gathering in Italy

Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit the small European republic of San Marino on Saturday before travelling to the Italian seaside city of Rimini to attend a major Catholic cultural and political gathering.

The Pope will spend the morning in San Marino, a tiny country covering about 60 square kilometres and home to roughly 33,000 people. During the visit, he is expected to meet government officials and lead a prayer service at the country’s basilica.

After leaving San Marino, Pope Leo will travel to Rimini, where he will attend the annual Rimini Meeting, organised by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation. The event brings together religion, culture and politics and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago and is the leader of the Catholic Church and head of Vatican City, will deliver an address at 4:00 pm local time.

He will be the first pope to attend the event since Pope John Paul II took part in it in 1982.

Among the other speakers scheduled to participate are Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, as well as Italy’s Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini.

Before his speech, Pope Leo is expected to visit an exhibition dedicated to Saint Augustine, the influential fifth-century Christian theologian. Leo belongs to the Augustinian religious order, which was established centuries later.

The Pope will also meet people living with disabilities and sick members of the Catholic community at Rimini Cathedral. He will later celebrate an open-air Mass at the city’s port.

Rather than undertaking long international journeys this summer, Pope Leo has focused on shorter pastoral visits within Italy and nearby European countries, including trips to Pavia, Lampedusa and Assisi.

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