His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received in audience the President of Montenegro, Mr. Jakov Milatović, in the year marking the 140th anniversary of the Concordat between the Holy See and the Principality of Montenegro, in the Vatican on 3 October 2026.

The audience took place in a year of particular significance for relations between the Holy See and Montenegro, which also marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The President was subsequently received by the Secretary of State of His Holiness, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, in the presence of the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

Following the meetings in the Vatican, the President of Montenegro, accompanied by the Montenegrin delegation, paid a private visit to the Magistral Villa, one of the two institutional seats of the Sovereign Order of Malta, on the Aventine Hill in Rome. The President was welcomed by the Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to Montenegro, His Excellency Narciso Salvo di Pietraganzili, and visited the Villa and the Church of Santa Maria in Aventino.

The Magistral Villa is the seat of the Grand Priory of Rome and of the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Italian Republic. It has been in the possession of the Sovereign Order of Malta since the 14th century and has hosted some of the most significant events in its institutional life. By welcoming the President of Montenegro to this seat, the Ambassador Salvo di Pietraganzili reaffirmed his commitment to dialogue reaffirms its commitment to dialogue and to cooperation with the institutions of Montenegro.