Pope Leo XIV will make a pastoral visit this Saturday, August 22, to the Republic of San Marino and to Rimini, Italy, in a day that will begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude in the afternoon with a Mass at the port of the Italian city. The Pontiff will meet with the authorities of San Marino on the occasion of the centenary of diplomatic relations with the Holy See, will visit the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, and will hold an encounter with the sick, persons with disabilities, and the poor assisted by Caritas.
The first part of the day will be dedicated to San Marino. Pope Leo XIV will depart at 8:00 a.m. from the Vatican heliport and will land one hour later at the Torraccia airfield. After the official honors in Liberty Square, he will be received by the Captains Regent, Alice Mina and Vladimiro Selva, with whom he will hold a private meeting before proceeding to the Grand General Council. At 11:15 a.m., he is scheduled to appear on the central balcony of the Public Palace to greet and bless the faithful.
San Marino, one hundred years of diplomatic relations with the Holy See
The visit coincides with the centenary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the small republic, home to about 34,000 inhabitants. It will also be the third visit of a Pontiff to San Marino after those made by Saint John Paul II in 1982 and Benedict XVI in 2011.
At 11:45 a.m., Pope Leo XIV will arrive at the Basilica of San Marino, where he will be received by the Bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro, Domenico Beneventi, and by its rector, Marco Mazzanti. There he will participate in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and venerate the relics of Saint Marinus together with priests, consecrated persons, and representatives of the ecclesial life of the diocese.
Beneventi has stated in remarks to Vatican News that the local Church awaits the visit as an opportunity to “reaffirm ourselves in the faith” and to receive a new impetus in matters such as welcome, reconciliation, and peace. The prelate has also highlighted the importance the encounter will have for young people, from whom he expects active participation in “building the future.”
Before continuing on to Rimini, the Pope will make a “strictly private” visit to the monastery of Saint Anthony of Padua of the Augustinian nuns in Pennabilli, Italy. Pope Leo XIV had already visited this community in 2005 and 2009, when he was Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine.
Pope Leo XIV will attend the Rimini Meeting
The second part of the trip will begin at 2:45 p.m., with the Pontiff’s arrival at the fairgrounds of Rimini, Italy, where the 47th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, linked to the Communion and Liberation movement, is being held.
The program includes visits to exhibitions dedicated to Saint Augustine and to the French Catholic entrepreneur Léon Harmel. At 3:30 p.m., the Pope will greet the participants in the space dedicated to children, and half an hour later he will meet with attendees in the Grand Auditorium.
The Bishop of Rimini, Nicolò Anselmi, has indicated that 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.” The diocese receives the visit during the height of the tourist season, during which, as the prelate explained, between seven and eight million people pass through the coast of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.
The arrival of Pope Leo XIV will also mark the return of a Pope to Rimini 44 years after the visit of Saint John Paul II, who was in the city on August 29, 1982, also for the Meeting, and later celebrated a Mass by the sea.
Encounter with the most vulnerable and Mass at the port
At 5:30 p.m., Pope 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. According to Anselmi, around 650 people will take part. The bishop explained that the diocese wanted to reserve a central place during the visit for those experiencing situations of particular vulnerability.
The day will conclude at 6:30 p.m. with a concelebrated Eucharist at the port of Rimini. Anselmi has described the Eucharist as “the most important moment of this entire day” and has highlighted the choice of an open space by the sea, which will allow both the faithful and the many visitors who are in the city these days to draw near.
Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to bid farewell to the authorities at 8:00 p.m. and return by helicopter to the Vatican, where his arrival is planned for 9:00 p.m.