Pope Leo XIV is expected to visit the Republic of San Marino on Saturday as part of a brief European tour that will also take him to the Italian city of Rimini.
The visit will see the pontiff meet San Marino’s authorities and lead a prayer service at the Basilica of San Marino before travelling to Rimini, where he will participate in the annual Rimini Meeting organised by the Catholic movement Communion and Liberation.
San Marino, a mountainous microstate surrounded by Italy, covers about 60 square kilometres and has a population of roughly 33,000. It is recognised as the world’s oldest surviving republic.
During his visit, Leo is scheduled to meet local officials and take part in religious activities before proceeding to Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast.
The Rimini Meeting brings together religious, political and cultural figures and attracts large numbers of visitors each year. The event has historical links with Italy’s Christian Democratic movement, a centrist Catholic political force that played a dominant role in the country’s post-war politics.
Leo is expected to deliver his main address at about 4:00 pm local time.
His participation will mark the first appearance by a pope at the gathering since John Paul II attended the event in 1982.
Among the other speakers scheduled for this year’s meeting are the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and Italy’s Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini.
Before his address, Pope Leo will visit an exhibition focused on Saint Augustine, the influential Christian theologian associated with the Augustinian tradition to which the pontiff belongs.
He is also expected to meet people living with disabilities and sick members of the Catholic community at Rimini Cathedral.
The pontiff will conclude his visit with an open-air Mass at the city’s port in the evening.
The San Marino and Rimini visits form part of Leo’s series of shorter trips within Italy and nearby European destinations this summer, following visits to Pavia, Lampedusa and Assisi.
The pope’s latest foreign trip to a European microstate was in March, when he visited Monaco.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Vatican said the trip would combine pastoral engagement with meetings involving civic authorities and the wider Catholic community.
