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Pope’s San Marino Day
Pope Leo XIV will make a pastoral visit on Saturday, August 22, to the Republic of San Marino and to Rimini, Italy, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending with a Mass at the port of Rimini in the afternoon.
“Pope Leo XIV will make a pastoral visit this Saturday, August 22, to the Republic of San Marino”
The Vatican News schedule says Leo XIV will highlight the legacy of Saints Marinus and Leo and begin his address with an invitation to young people to open their hearts to the infinite rather than being satisfied with “partial, immediate answers.”
Infovaticana says the pope will depart at 8:00 a.m. from the Vatican heliport and land one hour later at the Torraccia airfield, then be received by the Captains Regent, Alice Mina and Vladimiro Selva, for a private meeting before proceeding to the Grand General Council.
Infovaticana adds that at 11:15 a.m. Leo XIV is scheduled to appear on the central balcony of the Public Palace to greet and bless the faithful, and at 11:45 a.m. he will arrive at the Basilica of San Marino to be received by the Bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro, Domenico Beneventi, and by its rector, Marco Mazzanti.
La Vie.fr frames the visit around San Marino’s identity as a microstate of 61 km2 founded on September 3, 301, with 34,000 inhabitants and a political system based on the sharing of power through a diarchy of two Captains Regent.
Rimini Meeting and Youth
After the San Marino portion of the day, Infovaticana says the second part of the trip begins at 2:45 p.m. with Leo XIV’s arrival at the fairgrounds of Rimini, Italy, for the 47th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples linked to the Communion and Liberation movement.
Le Figaro reports that among the speakers at the 47th edition, held from August 21 to 26, are the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa of Italy, and the parish priest of Gaza, Father Gabriel Romanelli, and it says Leo XIV will address participants at 4:00 PM.
Infovaticana quotes the Bishop of Rimini, Nicolò Anselmi, saying he hopes the pope’s presence will especially encourage young people “to do good” and to “let the civilization of love prevail over the culture of power.”
Vatican News says Leo XIV told the faithful that “our response can only be to walk with even greater conviction on the path of the Gospel” in a world marked by conflict.
Infovaticana also says the day concludes at 6:30 p.m. with a concelebrated Eucharist at the port of Rimini, described by Anselmi as “the most important moment of this entire day.”
Diplomacy, Freedom, and Stakes
Le Grand Continent describes the visit as Leo XIV’s fifth apostolic journey outside Italy, responding to the invitation of the two captains-regents, Alice Mina and Vladimiro Selva, and says the morning is for San Marino while the afternoon is for Rimini, Italy.
““the idolatry that corrupts at its root those political and economic projects that present themselves in the name of freedom”
Aleteia places the trip in a long-standing relationship between the Holy See and San Marino, noting that on the morning of August 22, 2026, Leo XIV will once again show his interest in micro-states after visiting the Principality of Monaco a few months earlier.
IndexBox says Leo XIV described San Marino as a “potential laboratory for good politics,” and it adds that his speech to the faithful in Piazza della Libertà urged them to remain united in a welcoming spirit.
El Mundo reports that in his speech before authorities and civil society at the Palace of the capital of San Marino, the pontiff took as a starting point the country’s historic motto, “Libertas,” to warn against “the idolatry that corrupts at its root those political and economic projects that present themselves in the name of freedom, but in reality are slaves of idols and of power.”
Infovaticana says the visit coincides with the centenary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the small republic, home to about 34,000 inhabitants, and it specifies that at 5:30 p.m. Leo XIV will travel to the cathedral of Rimini to meet with the sick, persons with disabilities, and people living in poverty assisted by Caritas, with around 650 people taking part.