ROME — The Vatican on Wednesday announced a busy and lengthy foreign travel schedule for Pope Leo XIV in the first half of 2026, confirming the pontiff will visit Monaco, Spain and four African nations — Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The announcement sets the stage for one of the busiest papal travel schedules in years, since Leo will also be undertaking a grand tour of Italy starting in May that will take him up and down the peninsula in a half-dozen one-day visits. After Leo’s election last May as the first U.S.-born pope, papal travel had largely been on hold. Leo had a packed calendar ministering to the 33 million pilgrims who came to the Vatican during the 2025 Holy Year. But with the Jubilee now over, the 70-year-old Leo is freer to travel to meet his new flock. He is making similar get-to-know-you visits this Lent by visiting a Roman parish each Sunday. The former Robert Prevost, who lived for two decades as a missionary in Peru, has said he loves to travel. He was on the road for much of his 12-year stint as Augustinian superior, visiting the order’s co
