San Marino is preparing to welcome the third pope in its history. On 22 August, Leo XIV will ascend Monte Titano, following the visits of John Paul II in 1982 and Benedict XVI in 2011. The occasion also falls in the centenary year of diplomatic relations between San Marino and the Holy See, established in 1926.
Tracing the thread connecting the three visits is the international outlet Silere non possum, which highlights a remarkable coincidence: both John Paul II and Benedict XVI turned to Saint Augustine when addressing the people of San Marino on freedom, responsibility, and the relationship between man and faith. That legacy now passes to Leo XIV, the first Augustinian pope in history.
John Paul II arrived on Titano on 29 August 1982. In his address, he invoked the famous motto attributed to San Marino, «Filii, relinquo vos liberos», linking the Republic’s tradition of freedom to the need to keep it grounded in truth and responsibility. That same day, meeting young people at the Rimini Meeting, Wojtyła cited Saint Augustine’s Confessions and the theme of the restless human heart searching for meaning.
Twenty-nine years later, on 19 June 2011, it was Benedict XVI’s turn to visit San Marino. Joseph Ratzinger arrived at a time marked by economic and financial difficulties, and he also addressed the challenges facing cross-border workers. In his speech, he explored the relationship between civil institutions and the Church and, once again, drew on Saint Augustine to reflect on the bond between human freedom and grace.
Today, that thread takes on an even deeper significance. As Silere non possum notes, Robert Francis Prevost has belonged to the Order of Saint Augustine since 1977 and served as the order’s prior general from 2001 to 2013. Following his election to the papacy on 8 May 2025, he explicitly described himself as a “son of Saint Augustine.”
The connection will continue even after his stop in San Marino. On the afternoon of 22 August, Leo XIV will travel to the Rimini Meeting, where he will visit an exhibition dedicated precisely to Saint Augustine.
The visit to Titano thus brings together three chapters of San Marino’s history and three popes, spanning more than four decades. First Wojtyła, then Ratzinger, and now Prevost: at the heart of it all, once again, lies the meaning of freedom — a word deeply woven into the Republic’s identity.
Source: Silere non possum.
