Apostolic Journeys | whereisthepope.com

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live6–12 Jun 2026

Apostolic Journey to Spain

Spain has welcomed the papacy six times in the modern era: Paul VI in 1970, John Paul II four times between 1982 and 2003 — including his iconic address to youth in Santiago de Compostela and the 1989 World Youth Day in Santiago — and Benedict XVI in 2010 and 2011, when he consecrated the Sagrada Família and presided over World Youth Day in Madrid. Today some 33 million Spaniards identify as Catholic — around 67% of the population — though regular Mass attendance has fallen to roughly 15%. Pope Leo XIV's journey focuses on faith and youth in Madrid and Barcelona, and on the Church's humanitarian response in the Canary Islands, where the Diocese of Canarias has become one of Europe's frontline responders to the Atlantic crossing from West Africa: over 46,000 migrants arrived by sea in 2023 alone.

1 countries4 cities5,200 km

Upcoming

upcoming25–28 Sept 2026

Apostolic Journey to France

France is the eldest daughter of the Church — fille aînée de l'Église — in Catholic tradition, and this is the first official papal state visit to the country since Benedict XVI travelled to Paris and Lourdes in September 2008. Pope Leo XIV's four-day journey visits three distinct poles: Paris, where Notre-Dame Cathedral (restored after the 2019 fire and reopened in December 2024) provides the defining visual moment; Scy-Chazelles in Moselle, where the Holy Father will pray at the tomb of Robert Schuman — statesman, devout Catholic, and co-founder of the European project, whose beatification cause has been open since 1990; and Lourdes, the Marian shrine in the Pyrenees that draws six million pilgrims a year. The visit also includes an address to UNESCO — the first since John Paul II in 1980 — reflecting Leo XIV's engagement with questions of culture, science, and human dignity.

1 countries3 cities3,500 km

Past

completed13–23 Apr 2026

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.

4 countries11 cities18,000 km

completed28 Mar 2026

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.

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