On February 19 the Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV will travel to six destinations across Italy this year, all either day or half-day trips, ranging from the south to the north of Italy.
OK, we created that headline to see if you were paying attention….as you probably know, Pope Leo does not live in Italy….he lives in the Vatican City State…in effect, a separate country…..sharing its entire 2-mile (approx. 3.2 kilometer land border exclusively with Italy…..Vatican City-state is actually an enclave situated surrounded by the city of Rome. So, whenever he ventures more than a few hundred yards, he is in Italy.
The announcement of the Italian trips comes amid speculation about Pope Leo’s international travels. The Vatican has yet to officially confirm any international papal travel in 2026 (we might point out that since Vatican City-State is a separate country, any travel outside of Vatican City is technically “international”).
Here is Pope Leo’s travel schedule in Italy for May 2026:
As mentioned, these are short trips, either half-day or full-day. In each case he will return to the Vatican each night.
May 8
Pompeii: The most symbolic of the trips will bring the pope south to the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii on the first anniversary of his election to the Papacy on May 8, 2025. which is also the The Feast of Our Lady of Pompeii (also known as Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii), to whom Pope Leo entrusted his mission as pope. He will offer Mass here.
Naples: He will then travel to nearby Naples for an afternoon visit, where he will meet with clergy and religious at the city’s cathedral and greet the faithful in the Piazza Plebiscito, one of the largest public squares in Italy.
May 23
Acerra (the ‘Land of Fires’): On May 23, the pope is scheduled to visit Acerra, a town of roughly 60,000 people located about nine miles northeast of Naples in a region known as the Terre dei Fuochi, or “Land of Fires.” For decades, the area has been afflicted by illegal waste dumping and burning, much of it linked to organized crime, causing elevated rates of illness among local residents. Pope Leo has chosen to visit on the eve of the anniversary of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical on care for the environment.
June 20
Pavia: the final resting place of St. Augustine. On June 20, the Augustinian pope will travel north to Pavia, a city in Lombardy, to pay tribute to St. Augustine of Hippo. The Basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro in Pavia houses the remains of the fourth-century bishop and theologian, one of the most influential figures in Christian history. Augustine, born in what is now Algeria, died in A.D. 430. His relics were transferred north to Lombardy in the eighth century.
July 4
Lampedusa: Pope Leo will visit Lampedusa, the tiny Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea that lies closer to the coast of Tunisia, roughly 70 miles away, than to Sicily, some 127 miles to the north. Pope Francis visited Lampedusa in July 2013 to draw attention to those who had lost their lives attempting the crossing from the African coast, making it the first trip of his pontificate. The island has since remained a powerful symbol of the global migration crisis, serving as a primary European entry point for migrants, many coming from Libya and Tunisia.
August 6
Assisi: Pope Leo will travel to Assisi today, the Umbrian hill town and birthplace of St. Francis, to offer Mass and meet with young Europeans as part of the Church’s celebration of the special jubilee year marking the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’s death. The papal visit coincides with the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord and falls a few days after the annual celebration for Assisi’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the 16th-century Church built over the small chapel where St. Francis founded the Franciscan order. Each year during the first week of August pilgrims to the basilica can receive a plenary indulgence (under the usual conditions), recalling St. Francis mystical experience at the site in 1216 in which St. Francis asked Christ to offer complete remission of all sins, to all those who, repented and confessed, within that Church.
August 22
Rimini: The final announced visit will take Pope Leo to Rimini on Aug. 22 for the Meeting for Friendship Amongst Peoples, an annual gathering organized by Communion and Liberation, a Catholic lay movement with roots in Italy. Pope Leo will be the first pope to attend the event, known informally as the Rimini Meeting, and will also offer Mass with Catholics of the diocese.
Although not officially confirmed, the following are often mentioned:
Bishops in Angola and Equatorial Guinea have referenced upcoming papal visits, and Church officials in Spain have similarly indicated they expect Pope Leo in June.
A one-day visit to Monaco and a year-end return to Peru, where Pope Leo spent significant years of his ministry before his election to the papacy, has also been the subject of discussion.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed earlier this month that there are no plans for Pope Leo to travel to the United States or Mexico this year.