A Trip Francis Never Made
The symbolism is already significant in the very fact that Leo XIV came to Spain at all. His predecessor Francis never officially visited Spain during his entire pontificate; the last pope on Spanish soil was Benedict XVI during World Youth Day in 2011. Die Zeit ↗The seventy-year-old pope, an American by birth who spent many years serving as a missionary and bishop in Peru and speaks fluent Spanish, will visit Barcelona and the Canary Islands in addition to Madrid. More than half a million people have registered for the masses and vigils, and in Madrid alone more than 14,000 police officers are overseeing security. El País ↗
A Blessing for a Divided Country
Spain is receiving the pope amid deep political polarization, but from the very first moment Leo XIV has spoken in language that seeks to rise above the opposing camps. At a meeting with state representatives and diplomats in Madrid, he thanked the country for its "loyalty to international law and multilateralism" and called for moving from "barren simplifications to a fruitful acknowledgment" of the world's complexity. He noted that today a message of peace sounds "naive to some and provocative to others." n-tv ↗The German broadcaster n-tv read those words as indirect criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump — after Trump reacted sharply in May to the pope's criticism of the war with Iran. Still aboard the plane to Madrid, Leo XIV repeated his call to end Russia's war in Ukraine: "There really needs to be pressure to make the violence stop," he said, according to the ANSA news agency. n-tv ↗
An Open Wound of the Church
The pope also did not skip over the darkest chapter of Spanish Catholicism. The Vatican confirmed that he will meet with victims of sexual abuse in church institutions, as victims' associations have long demanded. He himself, still during the flight, described the scandals as a "still open wound" of the Church. RTE News ↗The scale of the problem in Spain is enormous: according to a 2023 report by the Spanish ombudsman, approximately 200,000 minors have been victims of abuse in church settings since 1940. The gesture of the pope, who chose to meet with them right at the start of his trip, thus carries great weight for society.
Migrants and a Tower for Gaudí's Centenary
The second major theme of the trip is migration. In the Canary Islands, one of the main gateways for migrants arriving in Europe by boat from Africa, the pope will meet with migrants — continuing the emphasis that Francis brought to the Holy See's agenda. On the first day, he also visited a Cáritas center for homeless people. France 24 ↗The cultural highlight will be Wednesday, when in Barcelona he will bless the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família basilica — on the very day marking the hundredth anniversary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudí. Die Zeit ↗
What hotinfo Is Watching
- June 8 — the pope's address before both chambers of the Spanish parliament and reactions from political camps
- June 9 — Barcelona: an announced protest on Passeig del Born versus a vigil at the Olympic stadium
- June 10 — inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família basilica (100th anniversary of Gaudí's death)
- meetings with migrants in the Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Tenerife)
- the ongoing dispute between state and church over the Valle de los Caídos memorial and over military chaplains
- whether the trip will overshadow the corruption scandals surrounding Prime Minister Sánchez (the Leire Díez case)
