There had been speculation that the first Pontiff from the United States might return to his country of birth, possibly to appear at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
Some had also wondered whether he might combine this with wider travels across the Americas.
However, a closer look at the optics—visiting his homeland so soon after election, and so close to the US midterms—suggests it would have been an unexpected move.
Following his successful trip to Turkey and Lebanon in November and December of last year, it now seems clear that Pope Leo—arguably the Pontiff of most international stock yet—will make overseas travel a defining feature of his ministry. Pope Francis visited 66 countries in his 12-year pontificate; Pope Benedict XVI visited 24; and Pope St John Paul II travelled to a record 129 nations across 104 apostolic journeys.
International travel has become a hallmark of the modern papacy; in contrast, earlier popes remained largely within the confines of Rome.
The Pope’s first major overseas journey of 2026 will include a visit to Algeria. As early as last December, Leo had expressed hopes for the trip, referring to Algeria as “the land of St Augustine, a place close to my heart”.
The Archbishop of Algiers, Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, has confirmed that preparations are under way for a visit in the first half of this year.
Other African destinations are planned. In January, the papal nuncio to Angola announced publicly that the Pope had accepted an invitation to visit Luanda, coinciding with the 450th anniversary of the city’s founding. Equatorial Guinea—considered one of Africa’s most Catholic nations—and Cameroon, which also has a significant Catholic population, are expected to feature on the itinerary.
The Pope will also travel to Spain, a country that has awaited a papal visit for some time. Pope Benedict visited Spain three times, but Pope Francis never did. The 2026 visit is expected to include Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
Barcelona, home of the Sagrada Família, will be a particularly significant stop as the city marks the centenary of the death of the basilica’s architect, Antoni Gaudí.
Finally, and more tentatively, a visit to Peru is likely towards the end of the year, once national elections have concluded. After a stop in Lima, the Pope is expected to visit Chiclayo, the diocese where he previously served as bishop.
He may also include Argentina and Uruguay in the same journey. Pope Francis never returned to his native Argentina, and the last papal visit to the country was by Pope St John Paul II in 1987.
Uruguay, too, has not hosted a pope since a brief stopover in 1988, and the Church there hopes this long gap may soon be bridged, particularly in a country marked by rapid secularisation.
Within Italy, it is likely that the Pope will visit Assisi. This year marks 800 years since the passing of St Francis of Assisi, with the year being observed as the “Jubilee Year of St Francis”.
Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino, apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino and Foligno, expressed his anticipation at a recent press conference in Rome: “We are already looking forward to Pope Leo’s visit in the coming year.”