ROME — The Vatican has unveiled a comprehensive foreign travel itinerary for Pope Leo XIV during the first half of 2026, confirming visits to Monaco, Spain, and four African countries: Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea, reports Baltimore Chronicle via ABC. This announcement highlights one of the most demanding travel schedules undertaken by a pope in recent years, including a series of one-day trips across Italy beginning in May.
Following his election last May as the first pope born in the United States, Leo XIV had maintained a largely domestic schedule, dedicating much of 2025 to ministering to the 33 million pilgrims who visited the Vatican during the Holy Year. With the Jubilee concluded, the 70-year-old pontiff has more freedom to meet Catholics worldwide. During Lent, he continues to visit Roman parishes each Sunday in a series of personal pastoral visits.
Before his election, Robert Prevost—now Pope Leo XIV—spent twenty years as a missionary in Peru and has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to travel. During his twelve-year tenure as Augustinian superior, he frequently visited the order’s communities around the globe. His first papal foreign journey occurred late last year, encompassing trips to Turkey and Lebanon to fulfill commitments made by Pope Francis, who had been limited by health concerns.
Looking forward, Pope Leo XIV will undertake a one-day visit to Monaco on March 28. Shortly after Easter, he embarks on a ten-day African tour from April 13 to April 23, visiting Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. The stop in Algeria holds particular significance due to its association with St. Augustine of Hippo, the fifth-century theologian who inspired Leo’s religious order. Comparatively, only Pope Francis undertook a similarly long and demanding itinerary in 2024, traveling to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
From June 6 to June 12, Leo XIV will visit Spain, likely spending June 10 in Barcelona to mark the centenary of Antoni Gaudí’s death, the architect of the renowned Sagrada Familia basilica, which recently achieved its final height with the installation of its central tower. While the Vatican has not announced additional foreign trips, Leo is expected to visit Peru and may include Argentina and Uruguay later in 2026. Notably, he will not travel to the United States this year, foregoing participation in the nation’s 250th independence anniversary celebrations. On July 4, he will instead be in Lampedusa, the southern Italian island that serves as a primary entry point for migrants arriving from North Africa.
Earlier we wrote that BBC apologizes after racial slurs by John Davidson disrupt 2026 BAFTAs live broadcast
