Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit San Marino on Saturday before travelling to the Italian city of Rimini for a major Catholic gathering bringing together religious, cultural and political figures.

The pontiff will spend the morning in San Marino, a small republic covering about 60 square kilometres and home to roughly 33,000 people. The visit is part of a series of short pastoral trips he has undertaken within Europe this summer.

During his stay, Leo is expected to meet San Marino’s authorities before leading a prayer service at the country’s basilica.

The visit comes months after the pope travelled to Monaco in March, marking another engagement in one of Europe’s smaller sovereign states. San Marino, located in the Apennine Mountains and surrounded by Italy, is regarded as the world’s oldest surviving republic.

After leaving San Marino, Leo will travel to Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast to attend the annual Rimini Meeting, organised by Communion and Liberation, an influential Catholic movement.

The gathering combines discussions on religion, culture and politics and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It also has historical links to Italy’s former Christian Democratic movement, which played a dominant role in the country’s post-war political landscape.

Leo is expected to deliver an address at 4pm local time, becoming the first pope to participate in the event since Pope John Paul II attended in 1982.

Other prominent speakers scheduled for this year’s meeting include the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, as well as Italy’s Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, and Transport Minister, Matteo Salvini.

Before his address, the Pope is expected to visit an exhibition devoted to Saint Augustine, the influential Christian theologian whose teachings shaped the Augustinian tradition to which Leo belongs.

He will also meet sick and disabled members of the Catholic community at Rimini Cathedral before celebrating an open-air Mass at the city’s port later in the evening.

Rather than undertaking long international journeys during the summer, Leo has so far limited his travels to short pastoral visits, including trips to Pavia, Lampedusa and Assisi.