# Papal travel

Papal travel outside Rome has been historically rare, and voluntary travel of the pope was non-existent for the first 500 years. Pope John Paul II (1978–2005) undertook more pastoral trips than all his predecessors combined. Pope Francis (2013–present), Pope Paul VI (1963–1978) and Pope Benedict XVI (2005–2013) also travelled globally, the latter to a lesser extent due to his advanced age.
Popes resided outside Rome—primarily in Viterbo, Orvieto, and Perugia—during the 13th century, and then absconded to France during the Avignon Papacy (1309–1378). Pope Vigilius (537–555) in 547, Pope Agatho (678–681) in 680, and Pope Constantine in 710 visited Constantinople, whereas Pope Martin I (649–655) was abducted there for trial in 653. Pope Stephen II (752–757) became the first pope to cross the Alps in 752 to crown Pepin the Short; Pope Pius VII repeated the feat over a millennium later for the coronation of Napoleon.

## Travel before the Second Vatican Council
### Outside Rome, within Italy

Pope Clement I was exiled to Chersonesos Taurica by Roman emperor Trajan and then martyred into the Black Sea, according to apocryphal accounts circa 99. Pope Pontian (230–235) died in exile in Sardinia, but resigned his pontificate before leaving the city. Pope Cornelius (251–253) died after a year of exile in Civitavecchia, 80 km from Rome. Pope Liberius (352–366) was the first pope to get far from the city as pope when he was exiled to Beroea in Thrace by Roman Emperor Constantius II. Pope John I (523–526) became the first pope to willfully travel outside Rome when he sailed for Constantinople in 523.
Pope Clement II (1046–1047) was the first pope consecrated outside Rome. Pope Urban II (1088–1099) became the first pope to travel extensively outside Rome. Elected in Terracina, Urban II held synods in Amalfi, Benevento, and Troia. He preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont (1095) in Clermont-Ferrand. Prior to this, Pope Leo IX (1049–1054) had been the last pope to cross the Alps for 50 years.
Although the cardinals have historically gathered at a handful of other locations within Rome and beyond, only six elections since 1455 have been held outside the Apostolic Palace, Twenty-eight papal elections have been held outside Rome, in: Terracina (1088), Cluny (1119), Velletri (1181), Verona (1185), Ferrara (Oct. 1187), Pisa (Dec. 1187), Perugia (1216, 1264–1265, 1285, 1292–1294, 1304–1305), Anagni (1243), Naples (1254, 1294), Viterbo (1261, 1268–1271, July 1276, Aug.–Sept. 1276, 1277, 1281–1282), Arezzo (Jan. 1276), Carpentras/Lyon (1314–1316), Avignon (1334, 1342, 1352, 1362, 1370), Konstanz (1417) and Venice (1799–1800).

### Outside Italy, within Europe
#### Constantinople

Pope John I (523–526) in 523 (as a delegate of Theodoric the Great), Pope Vigilius (537–555) in 547 (called by Justinian I to account for his refusal to sign on to the canons of the Council of Chalcedon), Pope Agatho (678–681) in 680 (attending the Third Council of Constantinople), and Pope Constantine in 710 visited Constantinople (called by Justinian II), whereas Pope Martin I (649–653) was abducted there for trial in 653 following the Lateran Council of 649. Constantine was the last pope to visit Constantinople until Pope Paul VI in 1967.

#### France

Pope Stephen II (752–757) became the first pope to cross the Alps in 752 to crown Pepin the Short. This made him the first pope to visit the Frankish empire. Pope John VIII (872–882) visited France in 878, and Pope Leo IX (1049–1054) travelled to France on September 29, 1049. The next pope to enter France was Pope Urban II (1088–1099), who stopped at Valence and Le Puy on his way to the Council of Clermont (1095).
Pope Pius VII (1800–1823) was in Paris in 1804 for the Coronation of Napoleon I.

#### Holy Roman Empire

Pope Benedict VIII (1012–1024) visited Bamberg on 14 April 1020; no pope had visited the borders of modern Germany for 150 years. Pope Leo IX (1049–1054) also travelled through the modern borders of Germany. Probably the last papal visit to the Holy Roman Empire was in 1782, when Pope Pius VI visited Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, in Vienna, and Munich in Bavaria.

## Travel since the 1960s

Pope Paul VI (1963–1978) became the first pope to leave Europe; no pope ever left Europe before the Second Vatican Council. He was the first to travel by airplane as pope, the first to leave Italy since 1809, and the first to visit North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, and Asia as pope.
Pope John Paul II travelled more miles as pope than all his predecessors combined, and as a result he was seen—in person—by more people than anyone else in history. He travelled approximately 721,052 miles, the equivalent of nearly 31 trips around the circumference of the Earth.
Beginning with Pope Paul VI, the popes used Alitalia as their primary airline, flying on charter flights, until Alitalia went out of business in 2021; since then, Italy's ITA Airways has been the main airline used by Pope Francis. Pope John Paul II instituted a tradition of returning to Rome on a flag carrier airline of the last country visited, when possible.
| Paul VI (1963–1978) | John Paul II (1978–2005) |
| Benedict XVI (2005–2013) | Francis (2013–present) |

## Table of destinations outside Italy (1964–present)

The table lists the international trips outside Italy made by Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis.
| Region | Country or territory | NV | Pope and year of visit (Note: column sorts by year of first visit, not by pope's name.) |
| Central Africa | Angola | 2 | 1992John Paul II 1992 • Benedict XVI 2009 |
| Central Africa | Cameroon | 3 | 1985John Paul II 1985, 1995 • Benedict XVI 2009 |
| Central Africa | Central African Republic | 2 | 1985John Paul II 1985 • Francis 2015 |
| Central Africa | Chad | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| Central Africa | Congo | 1 | 1980John Paul II 1980 |
| Central Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 3 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1985 • Francis 2023 |
| Central Africa | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | 1982John Paul II 1982 |
| Central Africa | Gabon | 1 | 1982John Paul II 1982 |
| Central Africa | São Tomé and Príncipe | 1 | 1992John Paul II 1992 |
| East Africa | Burundi | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| East Africa | Kenya | 4 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1985, 1995 • Francis 2015 |
| East Africa | Madagascar | 2 | 1989John Paul II 1989 • Francis 2019 |
| East Africa | Malawi | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| East Africa | Mauritius | 2 | 1989John Paul II 1989 • Francis 2019 |
| East Africa | Mozambique | 2 | 1988John Paul II 1988 • Francis 2019 |
| East Africa | Réunion | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| East Africa | Rwanda | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| East Africa | Seychelles | 1 | 1986John Paul II 1986 |
| East Africa | South Sudan | 1 | 2023Francis 2023 |
| East Africa | Tanzania | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| East Africa | Uganda | 3 | 1969Paul VI 1969 • John Paul II 1993 • Francis 2015 |
| East Africa | Zambia | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| East Africa | Zimbabwe | 1 | 1988John Paul II 1988 |
| North Africa | Egypt | 2 | 2000John Paul II 2000 • Francis 2017 |
| North Africa | Morocco | 2 | 1985John Paul II 1985 • Francis 2019 |
| North Africa | Sudan | 1 | 1993John Paul II 1993 |
| North Africa | Tunisia | 1 | 1996John Paul II 1996 |
| Southern Africa | Botswana | 1 | 1988John Paul II 1988 |
| Southern Africa | Eswatini | 1 | 1988John Paul II 1988 |
| Southern Africa | Lesotho | 1 | 1988John Paul II 1988 |
| Southern Africa | South Africa | 2 | 1988John Paul II 1988, 1995 |
| West Africa | Benin | 3 | 1982John Paul II 1982, 1993 • Benedict XVI 2011 |
| West Africa | Burkina Faso | 2 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1990 |
| West Africa | Cape Verde | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| West Africa | The Gambia | 1 | 1992John Paul II 1992 |
| West Africa | Ghana | 1 | 1980John Paul II 1980 |
| West Africa | Guinea | 1 | 1992John Paul II 1992 |
| West Africa | Guinea-Bissau | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| West Africa | Ivory Coast | 3 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1985, 1990 |
| West Africa | Mali | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| West Africa | Nigeria | 2 | 1982John Paul II 1982, 1998 |
| West Africa | Senegal | 1 | 1992John Paul II 1992 |
| West Africa | Togo | 1 | 1985John Paul II 1985 |
| Middle America | The Bahamas | 1 | 1979John Paul II 1979 |
| Middle America | Belize | 1 | 1983John Paul II 1983 |
| Middle America | Costa Rica | 1 | 1983John Paul II 1983 |
| Middle America | Cuba | 4 | 1998John Paul II 1998 • Benedict XVI 2012 • Francis 2015, 2016 |
| Middle America | Curaçao | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| Middle America | Dominican Republic | 3 | 1979John Paul II 1979, 1984, 1992 |
| Middle America | El Salvador | 2 | 1983John Paul II 1983, 1996 |
| Middle America | Guatemala | 3 | 1983John Paul II 1983, 1996, 2002 |
| Middle America | Haiti | 1 | 1983John Paul II 1983 |
| Middle America | Honduras | 1 | 1983John Paul II 1983 |
| Middle America | Jamaica | 1 | 1993John Paul II 1993 |
| Middle America | Mexico | 7 | 1979John Paul II 1979, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2002 • Benedict XVI 2012 • Francis 2016 |
| Middle America | Nicaragua | 2 | 1983John Paul II 1983, 1996 |
| Middle America | Panama | 2 | 1983John Paul II 1983 • Francis 2019 |
| Middle America | Puerto Rico | 1 | 1984John Paul II 1984 |
| Middle America | Saint Lucia | 1 | 1986John Paul II 1986 |
| Middle America | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 1985John Paul II 1985 |
| Northern America | Bermuda | 1 | 1968Paul VI 1968 |
| Northern America | Canada | 4 | 1984John Paul II 1984, 1987, 2002 • Francis 2022 |
| Northern America | United States of America | 10 | 1965 Paul VI 1965 • John Paul II 1979, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1995, 1999 • Benedict XVI 2008 • Francis 2015 |
| South America | Argentina | 2 | 1982John Paul II 1982, 1987 |
| South America | Bolivia | 2 | 1988John Paul II 1988 • Francis 2015 |
| South America | Brazil | 6 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1982, 1991, 1997 • Benedict XVI 2007 • Francis 2013 |
| South America | Chile | 2 | 1987John Paul II 1987 • Francis 2018 |
| South America | Colombia | 3 | 1968Paul VI 1968 • John Paul II 1986 • Francis 2017 |
| South America | Ecuador | 2 | 1985John Paul II 1985 • Francis 2015 |
| South America | Paraguay | 2 | 1988John Paul II 1988 • Francis 2015 |
| South America | Peru | 3 | 1985John Paul II 1985, 1988 • Francis 2018 |
| South America | Uruguay | 2 | 1987John Paul II 1987, 1988 |
| South America | Venezuela | 2 | 1985John Paul II 1985, 1996 |
| Central Asia | Kazakhstan | 2 | 2001John Paul II 2001 • Francis 2022 |
| East Asia | Hong Kong | 1 | 1970Paul VI 1970 |
| East Asia | Japan | 2 | 1981John Paul II 1981 • Francis 2019 |
| East Asia | Mongolia | 1 | 2023 Francis 2023 |
| East Asia | South Korea | 3 | 1984John Paul II 1984, 1989 • Francis 2014 |
| South Asia | Bangladesh | 3 | 1970Paul VI 1970 • John Paul II 1986 • Francis 2017 |
| South Asia | India | 3 | 1964Paul VI 1964 • John Paul II 1986, 1999 |
| South Asia | Pakistan | 1 | 1981John Paul II 1981 |
| South Asia | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1970Paul VI 1970 • John Paul II 1995 • Francis 2015 |
| Southeast Asia | Indonesia | 3 | 1970Paul VI 1970 • John Paul II 1989 • Francis 2024 |
| Southeast Asia | Myanmar | 1 | 2017Francis 2017 |
| Southeast Asia | Philippines | 4 | 1970Paul VI 1970 • John Paul II 1981, 1995 • Francis 2015 |
| Southeast Asia | Singapore | 2 | 1986John Paul II 1986 • Francis 2024 |
| Southeast Asia | Thailand | 2 | 1984John Paul II 1984 • Francis 2019 |
| Southeast Asia | Timor-Leste | 2 | 1989 John Paul II 1989 • Francis 2024 |
| West Asia | Armenia | 2 | 2001John Paul II 2001 • Francis 2016 |
| West Asia | Azerbaijan | 2 | 2002John Paul II 2002 • Francis 2016 |
| West Asia | Bahrain | 1 | 2022Francis 2022 |
| West Asia | Cyprus | 2 | 2010Benedict XVI 2010 • Francis 2021 |
| West Asia | Georgia | 2 | 1999John Paul II 1999 • Francis 2016 |
| West Asia | Iran | 1 | 1970Paul VI 1970 |
| West Asia | Iraq | 1 | 2021Francis 2021 |
| West Asia | Israel | 4 | 1964Paul VI 1964 • John Paul II 2000 • Benedict XVI 2009 • Francis 2014 |
| West Asia | Jordan | 4 | 1964Paul VI 1964 • John Paul II 2000 • Benedict XVI 2009 • Francis 2014 |
| West Asia | Lebanon | 3 | 1964Paul VI 1964 • John Paul II 1997 • Benedict XVI 2012 |
| West Asia | Palestinian Authority | 3 | 2000John Paul II 2000 • Benedict XVI 2009 • Francis 2014 |
| West Asia | Syria | 1 | 2001John Paul II 2001 |
| West Asia | Turkey | 4 | 1967 Paul VI 1967 • John Paul II 1979 • Benedict XVI 2006 • Francis 2014 |
| West Asia | United Arab Emirates | 1 | 2019Francis 2019 |
| Eastern Europe | Bulgaria | 2 | 2002John Paul II 2002 • Francis 2019 |
| Eastern Europe | Czech Republic | 3 | 1995John Paul II 1995, 1997 • Benedict XVI 2009 |
| Eastern Europe | Czechoslovakia | 1 | 1990John Paul II 1990 |
| Eastern Europe | Hungary | 4 | 1991John Paul II 1991, 1996 • Francis 2021, 2023 |
| Eastern Europe | Poland | 11 | 1979John Paul II 1979, 1983, 1987, 1991 (2), 1995, 1997, 1999, 2002 • Benedict XVI 2006 • Francis 2016 |
| Eastern Europe | Romania | 2 | 1999John Paul II 1999 • Francis 2019 |
| Eastern Europe | Slovakia | 3 | 1995John Paul II 1995, 2003 • Francis 2021 |
| Eastern Europe | Ukraine | 1 | 2001John Paul II 2001 |
| Northern Europe | Denmark | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| Northern Europe | Estonia | 2 | 1993John Paul II 1993 • Francis 2018 |
| Northern Europe | Finland | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| Northern Europe | Iceland | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| Northern Europe | Latvia | 2 | 1993John Paul II 1993 • Francis 2018 |
| Northern Europe | Lithuania | 2 | 1993John Paul II 1993 • Francis 2018 |
| Northern Europe | Norway | 1 | 1989John Paul II 1989 |
| Northern Europe | Sweden | 2 | 1989John Paul II 1989 • Francis 2016 |
| Southern Europe | Albania | 2 | 1993John Paul II 1993 • Francis 2014 |
| Southern Europe | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 1997John Paul II 1997, 2003 • Francis 2015 |
| Southern Europe | Croatia | 4 | 1994John Paul II 1994, 1998, 2003 • Benedict XVI 2011 |
| Southern Europe | Greece | 3 | 2001John Paul II 2001 • Francis 2016, 2021 |
| Southern Europe | Malta | 5 | 1990John Paul II 1990 (2), 2001 • Benedict XVI 2010 • Francis 2022 |
| Southern Europe | North Macedonia | 1 | 2019Francis 2019 |
| Southern Europe | Portugal | 8 | 1967Paul VI 1967 • John Paul II 1982, 1983, 1991, 2000 • Benedict XVI 2010 • Francis 2017, 2023 |
| Southern Europe | San Marino | 2 | 1982John Paul II 1982 • Benedict XVI 2011 |
| Southern Europe | Slovenia | 2 | 1996John Paul II 1996, 1999 |
| Southern Europe | Spain | 8 | 1982John Paul II 1982, 1984, 1989, 1993, 2003 • Benedict XVI 2006, 2010, 2011 |
| Western Europe | Austria | 4 | 1983John Paul II 1983, 1988, 1998 • Benedict XVI 2007 |
| Western Europe | Belgium | 3 | 1985John Paul II 1985, 1995 • Francis 2024 |
| Western Europe | France | 11 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2004 • Benedict XVI 2008 • Francis 2014, 2023, 2024 |
| Western Europe | Germany | 6 | 1980John Paul II 1980, 1987, 1996 • Benedict XVI 2005, 2006, 2011 |
| Western Europe | Ireland | 2 | 1979John Paul II 1979 • Francis 2018 |
| Western Europe | Liechtenstein | 1 | 1985John Paul II 1985 |
| Western Europe | Luxembourg | 2 | 1985John Paul II 1985 • Francis 2024 |
| Western Europe | Netherlands | 1 | 1985John Paul II 1985 |
| Western Europe | Switzerland | 6 | 1969Paul VI 1969 • John Paul II 1982, 1984, 1985, 2004 • Francis 2018 |
| Western Europe | United Kingdom | 2 | 1982John Paul II 1982 • Benedict XVI 2010 |
| Oceania | American Samoa | 1 | 1970Paul VI 1970 |
| Oceania | Australia | 4 | 1970Paul VI 1970 • John Paul II 1986, 1995 • Benedict XVI 2008 |
| Oceania | Fiji | 1 | 1986John Paul II 1986 |
| Oceania | Guam | 1 | 1981John Paul II 1981 |
| Oceania | New Zealand | 1 | 1986John Paul II 1986 |
| Oceania | Papua New Guinea | 3 | 1984John Paul II 1984, 1995 • Francis 2024 |
| Oceania | Samoa | 1 | 1970Paul VI 1970 |
| Oceania | Solomon Islands | 1 | 1984John Paul II 1984 |