San Marino Pope
Faithful wait for Pope Leo XIV outside the Basilica during his visit to San Marino, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026.
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Pope Leo XIV has praised San Marino as a model of political freedom and service to the common good, using a visit to the tiny republic to warn against political and economic systems that place power above human dignity. In his address to authorities Saturday, Leo said the country’s founders created a society rooted in freedom, mutual respect and community. The pope described San Marino as a “laboratory of good politics” and called for respect for human dignity “from conception to natural death,” language commonly used by the Vatican in opposing abortion and euthanasia. The visit came five years after San Marino legalized abortion in a referendum.
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