Pope Leo XIV May Add European Parliament to 2026 Travel Agenda| National Catholic Register
The brief stopover is part of the pontiff’s very busy schedule, but it holds a particularly strong significance.
Pope Leo XIV may be adding the European Parliament (EP) to this year’s travel agenda after reportedly welcoming an invitation from its president, Roberta Metsola, according to EP sources. The pontiff is therefore expected to address the EP in Strasbourg soon, and April 28 has been indicated by sources as a possible date for the visit.
The EP visit is expected to be very brief, lasting just one day, and would be added to the travel program Leo XIV is planning for the year. The Pope has already confirmed his intention to visit Algeria, the birthplace of St. Augustine, who inspired his religious congregation.
Archbishop Kryspin Witold Dubiel, apostolic nuncio to Angola, confirmed in a Jan. 13 press conference that Leo XIV had accepted the invitation of Angolan President João Lourenço to visit the country. This week, the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe established a commission to prepare for the Pope’s visit to the country.
The African trip could also include Cameroon, which would mark the fourth visit by a pope, and which just celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of the post-synodal exhortation Ecclesia in Africa, signed by John Paul II in Yaoundé on September 14, 1995.
Leo XIV could even include a brief stop in Nigeria to bring consolation to persecuted Christians in the region. But, for now, this possibility is just a rumor.
The trip to Africa is expected to take place in the week after Easter. Vatican sources told the Register that Leo XIV’s trips to Peru and the United States, expected to take place in 2026, are also under consideration.
The brief EP stopover is therefore part of the pontiff’s very busy schedule, but it holds a particularly strong significance. Pope Francis, at the invitation of then-President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, visited Strasbourg on November 25, 2014, and delivered a speech to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.
Both of Schulz’s predecessors — Hans-Gert Pöttering of Germany and Jerzy Buzek of Poland — invited Benedict XVI to address the European Parliament, but he never accepted the invitation. Prior to Pope Francis, the only pope to have addressed the institution was John Paul II in 1988.
President Metsola invited the Holy Father to the EP during the private audience she had with him on January 29. If the visit is confirmed, it would also be an opportunity to celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the European Union.
