In Barcelona on Tuesday evening, ​​Pope Leo XIV addressed the concerns of three young people who shared their personal struggles in a powerful dialogue marked by sincerity, pain, and hope.

During the vigil held at the cityʼs Olympic Stadium — on the fourth day of his apostolic journey to Spain — the pontiff answered direct, profound, and heart-wrenching questions with the voice of a shepherd, human sensitivity, and moments of stirring intensity.

Discovering one’s vocation in a selfish society

Ferrán — baptized this past Easter — asked Pope Leo XIV for guidance on how to keep his gaze lifted in order to discover his vocation, “when society pushes us to look constantly at the ground or only at ourselves.”

Ferrán asked Leo XIV about the search for a vocation in a selfish society. | Credit: Vatican Media

Leo XIV highlighted the fact that “many young people and adults are rediscovering the Christian faith” and noted that “our desire for truth and happiness requires a broader horizon. And this restlessness is a gift that God himself has given us: We are made for the infinite.”

Leo XIV offered two ideas: It is necessary to cultivate that healthy restlessness, and to do so within one’s own specific circumstances.

Regarding the first point, he warned that “the idolatry of profit and performance, the drive to constantly produce and come out on top, as well as the cult of one’s own image, are nothing more than anesthetics” that numb the conscience.

For this reason, he added that those who allow themselves to be enlightened by the Gospel “also develop a critical perspective regarding a social system that does not place the person at the center and gives rise to situations of injustice and existential poverty on various levels.” This critical capacity means that “restlessness — as well as the discovery of one’s inner self, of spirituality, and even more so of the Gospel — can be frightening,” he added.

Secondly, the pope urged everyone to “cultivate this restlessness and make room for it” in their own concrete realities — by creating moments of silence, reading the Gospel daily, speaking with God, and “trying to walk this inner path alongside others, allowing ourselves to be accompanied on ecclesial journeys and engaging in dialogue with priests, religious, and people who, like us, have embarked on this path.”

God neither abandons nor desires human suffering

The second question came from Carmina, a secondary school teacher who described how depression led her to view “the idea of ​​disappearing” as her only way out: “One Friday night, I lost the battle and tried to take my own life.” Yet, she continued, “God gave me a second chance.”

Drawing on this lived experience, she asked — amid the profound silence of those present: “Where can we see God when the darkness is absolute and we can go on no longer? How can we trust in God when it seems that nothing — not even oneself — is worth anything?”

Carmina is shown here being embraced by Pope Leo XIV after talking with him about her experience of surviving depression and suicide. | Credit: Vatican Media

After a pause, Leo XIV responded by expressing gratitude for the effort involved in sharing an experience of such magnitude: “You have risen and resumed your journey, and this is a wonderful miracle that we see in many figures in the Gospel.”

The pontiff highlighted the need to “become aware of how mental health is increasingly threatened within societies considered advanced” — a fact that signals “something deeply amiss” in them, subjecting people “to pressures, expectations, and tensions that compromise fundamental forms of balance.”

Leo XIV then turned his attention to the “hours of darkness, anguish, and pain that Jesus experienced as the hour of his death drew near,” affirming that “this is not merely a matter of personal suffering”; rather, the Son of God takes upon himself, in his own flesh, all the anguish, pain, and suffering of humanity.

“The cross of Jesus tells us that God does not abandon us,” the Holy Father continued, noting that “he remains crucified with us in moments of pain and extreme loneliness.”

“When God seems absent, we must once again entrust to him the burdens we carry in our hearts — even crying out to him,” he added.

He also recommended “opening ourselves to someone who can help us offer a simple prayer, who can accompany us discreetly — without rushing to explain that pain — and who can take us by the hand and help us move beyond that cry.”

Regarding this experience, he warned against the temptation to “spiritualize pain” by superficially reducing it to the “will of God,” as this risks minimizing and silencing suffering. “God does not desire suffering; he bears it with us and invites us to trust in him perseveringly,” he declared.

How can I forgive my father and reconcile with God?

The third young person to address Pope Leo XIV was Desirée, who recounted how her father had tried to kill her mother — an event that drove her mother into drug addiction and landed Desirée in a juvenile detention center, where she gradually opened herself to faith and was baptized.

Her story moved those present to tears; they interrupted her account several times with applause expressing affection and support.

During her adolescence, she had rebelled against God. Now, with a faith renewed following a retreat, she asks God: “Where were you when I was a child?” She posed two questions to the pope: How can I forgive my father? How can I truly reconcile with God?

The pope reframed the first question, encouraging us to ask ourselves how we — as human beings — become “prisoners of evil, to the point of being violent toward others” and “fail to cultivate love” while respecting the dignity and freedom of others.

After condemning “a poisoned atmosphere in family relationships — characterized by abuse, oppression, and, in particular, violence against women” — the pope emphasized that “we cannot attribute to God what has been entrusted to our own responsibility.”

He thus recalled that human beings have been endowed by God with intelligence, will, conscience, and dignity, and noted that God has, above all, “come to meet us to show us — in his Son, Jesus Christ — the path to follow,” in addition to gifting us the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, he affirmed, these questions must be directed “at ourselves, at the dynamics of our society, at the culture of individualism, and at the temptation to violence — not at God.”

Regarding forgiveness, the pontiff emphasized that it is part of a journey. He warned that if one reads the Gospel “as a book of instructions, commandments, and duties,” one runs the risk of “causing ourselves great discouragement and frustration” upon discovering that we are incapable of the forgiveness to which the Lord invites us.

He added that “we must, above all, ask the Lord for forgiveness” so that he may “expand the space for love within us precisely where we have been wounded” and thus, gradually, “transform resentment into mercy and compassion.”

“We must not lose heart: In forgiveness, we advance in small steps,” for it is a gradual process that does not always mean returning to the previous situation “or living in a full relationship with those who have hurt us, especially when the incident involved violence.”

Nevertheless, he noted, it is possible “to maintain a good disposition of the heart toward the person, reject all forms of hatred or vengeance, strive to mend the relationship as much as possible, and perhaps pray for him or her.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV continued his seven-day trip to Spain with visits to Catholic sites, meetings with numerous communities including abuse victims, and a historic address to the Spanish Parliament.

The Holy Father will continue the apostolic visit through June 12. His events so far in the European country have also included a massive gathering with young people in Madrid and a visit to the historic Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia in Barcelona.

See below for photos of Pope Leo XIVʼs activities in Spain.

Pope Leo XIV and other clergy kneel at the altar during Mass at the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, June 7, 2026. The Holy Father said Mass in the historic plaza on the feast of Corpus Christi. | Credit: Vatican Media Young flower girls surround Pope Leo XIV during a Eucharistic procession at the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, June 7, 2026. The Holy Father said Mass in the historic plaza on the feast of Corpus Christi. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV walks during a Eucharistic procession during Mass at the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, June 7, 2026. The Holy Father said Mass in the historic plaza on the feast of Corpus Christi. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV elevates the Eucharist during Mass at the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid, June 7, 2026. The Holy Father said Mass in the historic plaza on the feast of Corpus Christi. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV watches a dance during the meeting “Building Networks with the World of Culture, Art, Economy, and Sport” at the Movistar Arena in Madrid, Spain, on June 7, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with victims of Church abuse in Madrid, June 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón in Madrid on June 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV speaks at Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid, Spain, on June 8, 2026, becoming the first pope in history to address the Spanish Parliament. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Pope Leo XIV speaks at Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid, Spain, on June 8, 2026, becoming the first pope in history to address Spain’s Parliament. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Pope Leo XIV speaks in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, on June 9, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN Pope Leo XIV prays at the tomb of St. Eulalia at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, on June 9, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with members of a Mediterranean Meeting taking place in Barcelona, Spain, June 9, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with Catalonian Augustinians in Barcelona, June 9, 2026. Leo is the first supreme pontiff from the Order of Augustinians. | Credit: Vatican Media

The long-awaited meeting finally took place. As confirmed by the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV met with Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny and his family at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Monday, June 8.

For a few minutes, the pontiff and the Puerto Rican singer — whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio and who has performed 10 concerts in the Spanish capital (one of which coincided with the popeʼs Saturday vigil with young people in Madrid) — were able to greet each other and converse, taking advantage of the fact that both were in the city at the time.

So far, no images of the meeting have emerged.

The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, had previously spoken to EWTN News about the possibility of a meeting between the pope and the Puerto Rican musician, stating that “the pope is never closed to speaking with anyone who wishes to enter into dialogue with him.”

“If that were to happen at some point, we certainly wouldnʼt rule it out, but it depends on the two of them. What is true is that Madrid is a very large city and can host various events on the same day,” the cardinal observed.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

A distinctive feature of Pope Leo XIVʼs apostolic journey to Spain has been the frequent use of the red papal mozzetta, from meeting Spanish royalty in Madrid to praying the Divine Office in Barcelona.

When Leo first appeared on the balcony of St. Peterʼs Basilica to the thousands of faithful gathered in the square after his election, many noticed the return of the mozzetta as reestablishing a papal tradition.

The mozzetta, which fell out of use under Pope Francis, is a short red cape worn over the shoulders. Leo has worn it often when meeting heads of state, delivering his “urbi et orbi” addresses at Christmas and Easter, and at special prayer services.

By wearing the mozzetta, Leo has chosen to revive a long-standing custom. But why does he wear it, and what does it symbolize?

History of the mozzetta

The mozzetta is a nonliturgical garment worn by the pope, cardinals, bishops, abbots, and certain priests, including canons of a cathedral chapter. It is normally worn over the cassock.

The history of this garment dates back to at least the 14th century, shortly after the papacy returned to Rome from Avignon. Initially, it was worn by the popes in Avignon to adapt to the colder French climate. Eventually, it became part of the popeʼs ceremonial dress around 1400, initially reserved for the pope but later extended to all cardinals and bishops.

The mozzetta also has roots from the earliest centuries of the papacy, when popes began to wear red mantles over white vestments in imitation of the Roman emperors, asserting both temporal and spiritual authority.

The mozzetta traditionally also had a hood attached to it to symbolize penance, but this was discontinued by St. Paul VI in 1969.

Symbolism, use, and differences

The mozzetta, in the case of a prelate, symbolizes his spiritual authority and rank within the Church hierarchy. For a pope, it is normally worn with the papal stole as a sign of his universal jurisdiction over all Catholics.

As a nonliturgical vestment, the mozzetta is normally not used to administer the sacraments. Instead, it is used by the clergy as a choir dress at certain services, e.g., the Divine Office, and by the pope for certain occasions, including audiences, prayer services, and “urbi et orbi” addresses. It is customary for the pontiff to wear it when he first presents himself to the crowd after his election.

The mozzetta a pope wears is different from those worn by cardinals and other clerics.

Pope Benedict XVI arrives to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York during his only visit to the United States from April 15–20, 2008. | Credit: Vatican Media

While the mozzetta for cardinals is red and for bishops purple, the pope has five versions of the mozzetta.

The one most commonly worn by the pontiffs is the red satin mozzetta, usually with an embroidered stole.

Pope Benedict XVI revived the use of other styles of the papal mozzetta, including the winter mozzetta (made of red velvet trimmed with white ermine fur) and the white silk mozzetta, worn during the Easter season.

Discontinuity under Francis and a reviving under Leo Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square shortly after his election on Thursday, May 8, 2025. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

When Pope Francis stepped out on the balcony of St. Peterʼs Basilica after his election to greet the faithful, he did not wear the papal mozzetta, preferring a simple white cassock. He chose not to wear the vestment during his 12-year pontificate, becoming the first pontiff in living memory not to do so.

Leo XIV has instead chosen to revive the use of the papal mozzetta, in line with his predecessors, who favored wearing certain vestments as a visible reminder of papal tradition.

BARCELONA, Spain — Pope Leo XIV dedicated Tuesday morning to thanking the thousands of volunteers who helped organize his apostolic journey to Spain before heading to Barcelona to touch the ancient traces of the country’s deeply rooted Christian faith.

At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia, whose construction began at the end of the 13th century on the site of early Christian and Romanesque churches and which became, a century later, one of the most important jewels of European Gothic architecture, the pope prayed midday prayer with about 500 faithful.

Hundreds more waited outside the cathedral to show their affection, many waving Vatican flags.

The crowd erupted with excitement at his arrival. The pontiff was accompanied by Cardinal Juan José Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, who gestured with his hands to indicate to the people waiting outside that the pope had to leave. The plane carrying Leo XIV had landed in the Catalan capital 40 minutes late.

During the ceremony, the pope sat in the oldest chair — the cathedra, or bishop’s seat — in the city that is still in use, dating at least to the cathedral’s consecration in 1058, according to recent research.

In his homily, Leo XIV called Catholics to be builders of communion.

“Dear brothers and sisters: It is in this spirit that we too, in a world torn apart by wars and divisions, in a society that is increasingly fragmented and individualistic, wish to be ‘martyrs’ — that is, witnesses and prophets of unity, of welcome, of harmony and of peace, even at the cost of sacrifice and renunciation,” the pope said.

It was the first time during the trip that Leo XIV pronounced several phrases in Catalan, the language proper to Catalonia, co-official with Spanish and the main language of the regional administration.

A symbol of Catalan cultural identity, the language to be used by the pontiff during the events scheduled in Barcelona had become the subject of public debate in Catalonia in recent days.

The controversy intensified after it emerged that the blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Familia — one of the central moments of the visit — would be conducted mainly in Spanish.

In the Congress of Deputies, where the pope delivered an unprecedented address Monday, Junts per Catalunya lawmaker Miriam Nogueras asked him to speak Catalan.

“It is important for each of us not to allow anything to destroy the unity in which God has established us and toward whose fullness he leads us day by day,” the pontiff said, alternating Catalan and Spanish in the homily.

Leo XIV cited two addresses by his predecessor, Pope Francis, who never visited Spain but often expressed affection for the country.

On the occasion of the inauguration of the Tower of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on Dec. 8, 2021, Francis sent a message recalling that the Church “is the fruit of an act of love that precedes her and comes from God. Above all, she grows by allowing herself to be loved by him, united, with a humble and grateful heart, because only those who allow themselves to be loved by God can build, together with others, the works of love.”

One year later, the Argentine pope told seminarians of the Archdiocese of Barcelona during a pilgrimage to Rome: “Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection which pours and will pour itself abundantly into your heart.”

Leo XIV structured his homily around the image of the Catholic Church as both beloved bride and body, with all believers as members of a single organism.

The Spirit, he said, “impels us, as parts of a single living structure, not only to give ourselves unreservedly wherever providence calls us, but to do so according to God’s designs, in obedience and trust.”

Just as in a body, he continued, “so too among us there are members who are stronger and others who are weaker; some are visible, performing functions that are evident to the outside world, while others are hidden, working from within — in some cases without ceasing and carrying out vital functions without anyone taking notice.”

The pope said there are many possible images to “illustrate the variety and importance of the roles and missions we find among ourselves,” but the message is always the same.

“In the richness of the gifts we have received, we are strong because we are united, and we are united because we are animated by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, who is the Spirit of communion for the salvation of all,” he said.

Upon arriving, Leo XIV was received by Omella. After the greeting, the cardinal led him to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a brief moment of personal prayer.

On his way to the altar, the pope passed by the baptismal font, built in 1433. It was in that baptistery that the first six Indigenous people brought from the Americas by Christopher Columbus received the sacrament of entrance into the Church, as a plaque in the chapel recalls.

All of this forms part of the cathedral’s history, which inherits a tradition of worship in this part of Barcelona dating back to the fourth century.

Leo XIV’s final act inside the cathedral was to descend to the crypt, where the tomb of the Roman martyr St. Eulalia, co-patroness of Barcelona, is located.

Before her martyrdom, the young saint was said to have tended geese. For this reason, 13 geese are kept today in the cathedral cloister in her honor, recalling both her 13 tortures and the age at which she died for the Lord.

The pontiff also spoke of “so many other martyrs” and called the faithful to respond with “our ‘yes,’ ready if necessary to die to ourselves, to lose ourselves in order to find ourselves again, to renounce the superfluous in order to build upon what is essential and lasts forever.”

“This is what the crucified One teaches us,” the pope said. “This is what the Apostle Paul and the examples of the saints invite us to do.”

The pope ended his homily by invoking Mary in Catalan: “Santa Maria de la Mercè, pregueu per nosaltres” — “Our Lady of Mercy, pray for us.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV built on teachings laid out by his predecessors when he apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery in his May 15 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, but the Holy Father also critiqued papal bulls issued in the late Middle Ages on the subject.

“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord,” Leo XIV wrote of the institution of slavery.

“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” he wrote.

The Holy Father explained that in antiquity and the Middle Ages, Catholic individuals and some ecclesiastical institutions participated in slavery. Though the Church never taught doctrinally that slavery was morally good or neutral, he wrote about popes who “intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation” at the request of political leaders.

Leo XIV wrote that “a formal, absolute, and universal condemnation of slavery” was not issued until Pope Leo XIII’s 1888 encyclical on the abolition of slavery. Leo XIV added that “we [cannot] deny or diminish” the Church’s delay in its denouncement.

“In the development of her doctrine, the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues,” Leo XIV wrote.

Church’s role in slavery

In a footnote in the encyclical, Leo XIV cited four papal bulls from the 1400s as his examples for when the Holy See sought to “regulate and legitimize” subjugation: Pope Eugenius IV’s Sicut Dudum and Etsi Suscepti, and Pope Nicholas V’s Dum Diversas and Romanus Pontifex.

“Political and, at times, even economic needs overcame the demands of the Gospel,” the footnote reads. “The need for evangelization was frequently compromised or at least misunderstood with regard to the needs of worldly powers, thus relativizing the problematic incompatibility of slavery with the Christian conscience.”

Nicholas V’s bulls, for example, authorized the Portuguese to impose slavery on specific non-Christians, particularly Muslims and pagans, related to specific conflicts. Eugenius IV condemned the enslavement of converts to Christianity without condemning the institution of slavery as a whole.

Tom Nash, a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, told EWTN News that St. John Paul II apologized for Christian participation in slavery as well and many popes condemned slavery (including when it was ongoing) but did not critique specific papal bulls on the subject in the way Leo XIV does.

Although Leo XIV’s comments on slavery are substantial, the topic only takes up a few paragraphs of the encyclical, which mostly deals with the Church’s social doctrine in the modern world and technological developments such as artificial intelligence.

Nash emphasized that the faithful should not interpret these paragraphs as a change in Church doctrine, however, because in spite of Catholic participation in slavery, “the Church has never definitively taught that chattel slavery was morally just.”

Although Leo XIV cited Sicut Dudum as an example, one of Eugenius IV’s main priorities was to “oppose the mistreatment of all African natives,” according to Nash. He quoted the bull: “They have deprived the natives of the property, or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery, sold them to other persons, and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them.”

The bull did not sanction slavery but instead excommunicated anyone who enslaved Christians or those seeking baptism. The punishment could only be lifted if the person freed the slaves and returned their property.

Nicholas V’s bulls were different because they explicitly authorized enslavement in certain cases, but Nash said the directives on slavery in Dum Diversas “are not an attempt to teach definitively,” are not pronouncements on doctrinal matters, and they “are certainly up for questioning and criticism.”

“They are prudential judgments and don’t even attempt to invoke the specific doctrinal criteria of a definitive teaching, let alone an ‘ex cathedra’ pronouncement,” Nash added. “And thus the Church’s teaching on infallibility is not [in] play and therefore not in doubt.”

One condition for infallible doctrinal pronouncements is that they must apply to all people at all times. The bulls from Nicholas V apply only “in a particular geographical situation in a particular time in history,” he said, and emphasized that “we cannot treat every papal statement as if it’s an infallible declaration.”

Papal condemnations of slavery

Although Leo XIII delivered one of the strongest condemnations of slavery in the late 1800s, Nash noted Pope Paul III’s papal bull Sublimis Deus in 1537 strongly rebuked enslavement of Indigenous Americans more than three centuries earlier.

The 16th-century pontiff blamed Satan for chattel slavery and for the mindset that Indigenous Americans “should be treated as dumb brutes created for our service.” He urged evangelization of the people and said they should not be enslaved or deprived of liberty or property.

Paul III’s bull expressly stated that this prohibition on enslavement of the Indigenous Americans applies regardless of anything that has been issued before, effectively superseding Nicholas V’s papal bulls from a century earlier.

Other popes in between Paul III and Leo XIII issued similar antislavery statements, with Pope Gregory XIV issuing an apostolic brief in 1591 demanding an end to the enslavement of people in the Philippines and Pope Urban VIII writing the 1639 papal bull Commissum Nobis, which condemned the enslavement of South Americans.

In the early 1800s, Pope Pius VII wrote to government leaders to urge the abolition of the slave trade and Pope Gregory XVI in 1839 issued the papal brief In Supremo Apostolatus, which was the first to condemn the slave trade in its entirety.

Nash noted that Christian opposition to slavery, however, is rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ, who “reaffirms the inherent dignity of every human person in a Roman-Empire milieu that had chattel slavery as a societal institution.”

“He did so in giving the doctrinal command, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’ (Mt 22:39),” he said. “Indeed, ‘neighbor’ includes everyone (see Gn 1:26-27), including the heretical Samaritans and other despised persons (Lk 10:25-36). Similarly, ‘the least of these my brethren’ unmistakably includes chattel slaves within a Roman-Empire milieu (Mt 25:40, 45).”

St. Paul wrote about slavery several times. In Ephesians 6, he told slaves to “obey your human masters” and for masters to “stop bullying,” adding that both have the same Master in heaven, before whom “there is no partiality.” In 1 Corinthians 7, he told slaves to “make the most of it” if they gain freedom but not to be concerned about it because “the slave called in the Lord is a freed person in the Lord, just as the free person who has been called is a slave of Christ.”

In contrast to norms of the time, Paul wrote about the equal human dignity of slave and master in Galatians 3, saying “there is neither slave nor free person” because “you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In the Epistle to Philemon, Paul writes to St. Philemon on behalf of the runaway slave, St. Onesimus, asking Philemon to receive him “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a brother.”

At least one pope — St. Callistus I, who reigned from A.D. 218 until he was martyred in A.D. 222 — was a former slave. Nash noted that although slavery existed in the Roman Empire and within Europe under Christendom, the practice was reduced significantly when Christianity replaced paganism.

Before a packed Santiago Bernabéu stadium and a crowd fully swept up in the moment, a figure dressed in white made his entrance. Yet it was neither Mbappé nor Cristiano Ronaldo nor any other Real Madrid soccer team legend but Pope Leo XIV.

It was a particularly significant moment for the pope at the arena where the team he loves — though, as pontiff, he’s for everyone — has achieved its greatest sporting feats. No match was being played, but the faithful of the Archdiocese of Madrid, together with the suffragan dioceses of Alcalá de Henares and Getafe, welcomed Leo with a euphoria comparable to that of a decisive goal in a World Cup final.

Pope Leo blesses a child at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid, June 8, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

“For a soccer player, scoring a goal in this stadium is a moment that leaves a bit of a mark on your life. Today, the Church in Madrid has scored a spectacular goal for all time," the pope said before beginning his address.

The event brought together representatives from parishes, movements, and consecrated life, as well as priests and pastoral workers, with a special presence from parish pastoral councils. Young people performed a short play for the pope modeled after a soccer match, and David Bustamante, a famous Spanish singer, also performed. There were also deeply moving personal testimonies, such as that of a 33-year-old man who shared with the gathering that he had been baptized last year and is now preparing to get married.

The event brought together representatives from parishes, movements, and consecrated life, as well as priests and pastoral workers, with a special presence from parish pastoral councils. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

When he addressed the priests, consecrated persons, and bishops of Madrid, the pope told them: “Your joy will be contagious if, moving from being just a fleeting emotion, it becomes a stable way of being, a deep sentiment that renews individuals, groups, and the diocesan community.”

“Baptism truly changes one’s life ... thereʼs no need to fear the fact that it never produces uniformity,” the pontiff stated during his second-to-last gathering in Spainʼs capital city, prior to beginning the second leg of his journey, which will take him to Barcelona on Tuesday, June 9.

To illustrate this idea, he referenced the New Testament as an antidote to uniformity, thanks to the “testimony of the variety of its voices.” He also drew attention to the episode of the Tower of Babel, where, according to the biblical account, people in a "totalitarian and merely human project ended up unable to understand their neighbor.”

In contrast to this, and in line with the proposals in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, he presented the figure of Nehemiah who involved the entire community in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

“Seeking and following him is the condition for proclaiming him,” the pope said about the task of evangelization. | Credit: Vatican Media

The pope used this gathering with some of the faithful of the diocesan community in the Madrid region to outline the keys to effective evangelization in the 21st century. He emphasized the importance of “not scattering or shutting ourselves away in the group or environment where we already feel secure among people who always sing the same tune.”

“To reach the heart of the city, we must cultivate the awareness that truth is symphonic and always transcends us, and cultivate the desire to encounter the Risen One, who always goes ahead of us, preceding us and perhaps already present where we have not yet sought him,” he noted.

Therefore, he continued, “seeking and following him is the condition for proclaiming him; otherwise, there is no evangelization, and today we can understand this better than in the past.”

Quoting St. Teresa of Ávila, he said: “‘Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you!’ Together, as a diocesan Church, you can offer the Gospel witness that unleashes the best strengths of a humanity bombarded by images and words, yet hungry for justice and thirsty for truth,” he added.

He also highlighted the special relationship between the Church and the city, which, as he explained, takes shape “among flesh-and-blood people, in workplaces and close relationships, but also within the different communities, associations, and neighborhood organizations,” and which gains even greater significance “amidst the change of epochs we are currently experiencing.”

“When we reduce ecclesial life to a routine where everyone remains locked within their own habits and roles, what we lack is the Spirit,” he stated.

His words seemed to resonate in the testimony of Sister María San José of the Congregation of the Daughters of Holy Mary of the Heart of Jesus. She is an educated, independent woman with two careers and two masterʼs degrees who left a comfortable life at Santander Bank to consecrate herself to religious life, demonstrating how God’s call reaches into every walk of life.

“I realized that there was something more that fulfilled me — beyond everything I had and everything I had built — and that was this consecrated life, this total dedication to the Lord,” she explained to EWTN News while on her way to the gathering.

“God knows the hearts of his people individually. He knows them as only he can — that is, in love and, therefore, in freedom,” the pope said, underscoring that God is “infinite mercy and wants everyone to be saved.”

“He desires this to the point of becoming flesh and taking upon himself all the sin, evil, and negativity of the world,” he emphasized.

Among those present at Bernabéu stadium was Father Antonio Sánchez, a priest of the Diocese of Getafe ordained last October. He shared with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, the deep emotion he felt participating along with the pope in the Corpus Christi procession following the Mass celebrated in the Plaza de Cibeles on Sunday, June 7.

Father Antonio Sánchez at Bernabéu Stadium on June 8, 2026. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Antonio Sánchez

It was, in his words, “a privilege to be selected without any merit; all they said was that the priests of the ecclesiastical province should be at the procession,” he explained.

“With an attitude of adoration, seeing the pope who was a great witness, because being close to the procession during such a unique moment was truly special. We were on the same [ground] level as the pope, and seeing him in the procession, adoring and focused on Christ ... it was a moment of realization: Amidst all the commotion, we were focused on Christ, to whom we have consecrated our lives,” he told ACI Prensa shortly before the pontiff entered the stadium, where he was welcomed with tremendous enthusiasm.

Prior to this gathering, the pope visited Santa María la Real de la Almudena Cathedral, which became the setting for one of his most touching moments in Madrid.

The Holy Father placed the Golden Rose at the feet of the image of the Virgin of Almudena as a symbol of his filial love, a gesture reflecting the pope’s deep Marian devotion. This marks the fourth Spanish image of the Virgin to receive this gift; the other three are the Virgin of Hope Macarena, the Virgin of La Cabeza, and the Virgin of Montserrat.

Pope Leo XIV prays at the Almudena Cathedral on June 8, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

This pontifical distinction is a recognition of the popular piety and Marian devotion of Madrid. It has ancient roots and symbolizes the papal blessing.

The tradition dates back to Pope Leo IX, who established it in 1049. Over the centuries, it has been bestowed upon monasteries, shrines, sovereigns, and prominent figures in recognition of their commitment to the faith and the common good. In the past, the Golden Rose was also awarded to queens, including Isabella the Catholic monarch, who was the first queen to receive it in 1493, granted by Innocent VIII.

In the solemn act, Pope Leo climbed the steps leading to the base of the image to lay the floral offering and pray.

His most notable previous visit to the Almudena Cathedral took place on the occasion of the 2002 canonization of Alonso de Orozco, an Augustinian who died in Madrid, in the convent that occupied the site of the current Senate building. The saint’s remains now rest in the chapel of the Contemplative Augustinian Nuns’ convent on La Granja street.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

On Monday, June 8, the third day of his apostolic journey to Spain, Pope Leo XIV met with six victims of abuse committed “by members of the clergy and the Church” in the country.

The Holy See Press Office confirmed the meeting, noting that it took place in the afternoon at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid.

The victims, the Vatican stated, were “accompanied by Church personnel engaged in supporting and accompanying victims.”

The meeting lasted nearly an hour, during which the victims shared their “painful personal experiences” with the Holy Father, and each person presented him with “proposals to make the Church’s response to such tragic cases more effective.”

The pope, the Holy See Press Office noted, “listened with affection and attention and assured them of his closeness” as well as that of “the entire ecclesial community.”

In addition, he pledged his commitment to ensuring that the proposals offered by the victims “serve as a foundation for future efforts, so that the Church may truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place where [those wounded] can find comfort and healing.”

A call to address the ‘scourge’ of abuse

Shortly before meeting with victims, during his encounter with the Spanish bishops, the Holy Father urged them to respond to the “scourge” of abuse in the Church “with listening, truth, justice, reparation, and an ever-more-determined commitment to prevention and a culture of care.”

“Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection, and real paths to healing,” Pope Leo said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV’s lunch with Spain’s bishops at the apostolic nunciature in Madrid offered a glimpse of the pope’s more informal and humorous side.

Yago de la Cierva, who is overseeing the organization of the pope’s trip to Spain, said Leo broke the ice before blessing the meal with a comment that drew laughter from those present.

“He said that before leaving for the trip, he had contacted artificial intelligence to ask: What should the pope say to the Spanish bishops? And artificial intelligence told him: Pope Francis would say ... So he stopped it and said: ‘I think there is another pope.’ And then artificial intelligence said: ‘Ah, that’s right, now it’s Pope Leo,’” de la Cierva recounted with a smile.

Leo XIV was elected the successor of Peter on May 8, 2025, though artificial intelligence has at times appeared slow to register the change. National Catholic Register journalist Jonah McKeown saw this firsthand when, like many users, he asked ChatGPT, OpenAI’s widely used artificial intelligence tool, about Pope Leo XIV.

“There seems to be some confusion with the name, since there has never been a Pope Leo XIV. However, there have been several popes named Leo throughout history,” the chatbot responded in one test.

After the joke, the pope — who is no technophobe and has repeatedly encouraged the proper use of artificial intelligence, including in his May 25 encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on the human person in the age of AI — turned to a technological image to deliver a deeper message to the bishops.

“Then he told the bishops that we have another algorithm, and that other algorithm leads us to love people, to accompany them, and to become servants of the word,” de la Cierva said.

Shortly after addressing Spain’s Parliament in the Congress of Deputies, Pope Leo XIV met with the country’s bishops at the headquarters of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, where he called on the Church, “in this time of increasingly drastic polarizations and oppositions,” to offer “a witness to unity in diversity.”

That communion, the pope said, comes from the awareness that the Church walks with the Lord, “as members of one body.” He added that such communion also has “missionary vitality.”

“A Church that is interiorly at peace can speak more freely to brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations and other religions, to those who do not believe, to civil authorities, and to all people of goodwill who work for the common good,” Leo said.

The pope told the Spanish bishops that their ministry carries a particular responsibility in this work of communion.

“We are called to be a visible sign of communion,” he said, first with Christ, then with “the successor of Peter and with the universal Church,” as well as with priests, diocesan communities, consecrated life, movements, associations, and every authentic charism given by the Holy Spirit for the common good.

“Your mission calls you to safeguard unity, foster dialogue, heal divisions, and accompany the journey of the people entrusted to your care,” he said.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

MADRID — Pope Leo XIV made history Monday by becoming the first pope to address Spain’s Congress of Deputies, delivering a forceful appeal to the country’s political class to defend human dignity and protect life “from conception to its natural end.”

The June 8 address, given before about 700 guests amid tight security, drew a standing ovation that lasted nearly seven minutes, with shouts of “Long live the pope!” echoing through the chamber.

In his speech, Pope Leo warned lawmakers not to subordinate human dignity to “shifting social consensus or the whims of the majority at any given moment,” insisting that “every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person.”

“In this sense, if life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?” the pope asked. “Can a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?”

“The defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization,” he said.

The pope’s remarks came as Spain’s socialist-led government has been advancing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in the country’s Constitution. Such a reform would require broad parliamentary consensus, including support from the center-right People’s Party.

“Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence,” Pope Leo said. “When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person.”

“For this reason,” he added, “the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.”

The pope also defended the family as “the primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community,” saying that “where the family is upheld, the spiritual and social stability of nations is also strengthened.”

“The family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging,” he said.

Pope Leo drew on Spain’s intellectual and Catholic heritage, citing Cervantes, St. Teresa of Ávila, Miguel de Unamuno and the School of Salamanca, especially the 16th-century Dominican friar Francisco de Vitoria.

From that tradition, he said, Spain helped shape “a legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties.”

The pope said that legacy remains alive whenever lawmakers ask “how to ensure that what is possible is just, that what is legal is truly humane, and that the will of the majority safeguards those goods that belong to all and respects that which no majority can legitimately violate.”

He also cited his recent encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” published May 25, saying that in an age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and rapid technological change, political discernment must focus on “the place of the human person in our decision making.”

The pope devoted part of his address to migrants and refugees, a major theme of his trip to Spain, which will conclude with visits to Tenerife and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a key entry point to Europe for migrants.

“The situation of migrants and refugees calls for a response that focuses on people, addresses the root causes that force them to leave, and goes beyond the mere management of migration flows,” he said.

He called for “safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration,” while also promoting “the right to remain in one’s own land,” so that no one is forced to leave home because of war, insecurity, poverty or the effects of the climate crisis.

Pope Leo also warned that many migrants remain “prey to traffickers and smugglers who take advantage of their desperation,” calling for stronger prevention, rescue and assistance efforts.

“No nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own,” he said.

Turning to global conflict, Pope Leo said the world is undergoing “a profound spiritual and cultural crisis” marked by violence, polarization and mistrust.

“Every war constitutes, ultimately, a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate and also of that common human consciousness that recognizes bonds of justice among nations,” he said.

“Weapons may impose a temporary silence; but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace,” the pope said, warning that “in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation.”

The pope also warned against the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, saying new technologies in the military sphere require “rigorous ethical oversight, so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.”

Addressing Spain’s polarized political climate, the pope urged lawmakers to resist contempt for political opponents.

“Political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one’s adversary,” he said. “In a mature society, even conflict can become a path to peace, when differences are softened by listening and directed toward recognizing the needs, aspirations and capabilities of all.”

“Firmness does not require contempt; disagreement does not entail humiliation,” he added.

Only two left-wing parties, Podemos and the BNG, which together account for six lawmakers out of more than 600 parliamentarians, chose not to attend the pope’s address.

Pope Leo also made a strong appeal for religious freedom, calling freedom of thought, conscience and religion “a fundamental right that protects the most intimate sphere of the person.”

“The freedom upon which the contemporary state is built, if it is authentic, recognizes the religious dimension of the human person, respects it and protects it legally,” he said. Authentic freedom, the pope added, “ensures that faith is not a reason for which a person has to forfeit his or her contribution to society.”

“Faith does not seek to impose itself through privileges or coercion; yet neither can it be silenced as if it were irrelevant to public life,” he said.

The pope also defended the sacramental seal of confession, saying it “holds special importance for the Catholic Church” and forms part of the broader sphere of religious freedom.

“To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures,” Pope Leo said.

The remarks came shortly after French bishops criticized a June 1 proposal in France’s National Assembly that they said could have endangered the seal of confession. The proposal was later withdrawn.

Near the end of his address, the pope invited Spanish lawmakers to “lift your gaze to the world around you,” not to escape reality, but to remember that every public decision “affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard.”

“A law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted,” he said. “It attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame.”

The pope concluded with a blessing for Spain, praying that the nation “never lose sight of its roots nor the courage to look to the future.”

“May Spain continue to be a land of encounter, of culture, of solidarity and of hope,” he said. “And may its public life always know how to unite the firmness of convictions with the nobility of dialogue and the greatness of service.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

MADRID — This cityʼs Movistar Arena became a kind of modern “Court of the Gentiles” on Sunday, where faith and contemporary art met to explore the mystery of the human person under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV.

The gathering brought together leading figures from Spanish culture with an international profile, including actor Antonio Banderas. Sports were represented by legendary badminton player Carolina Marín, a three-time world champion, while academia was represented by José María Coello de Portugal, vice rector for planning, coordination, and institutional relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Representatives of labor unions and employers’ organizations also presented the pope with their concerns and challenges, with the aim of working together to build a society oriented toward the common good and capable of overcoming fragmentation and polarization.

Their presence was itself a sign that encounter remains possible even in a divided society.

The historic meeting reflected the theme of the first papal trip to Spain in 15 years — “Lift up your gaze” — and Pope Leo XIV’s call to weave networks among different social actors, showing that beyond legitimate differences there is a firm desire to build strong, cross-sector alliances to face the challenges of the future.

One of the highlights of the event was Banderas’ address, in which he recited a text on the bond between faith and culture.

“I confess that I am a victim of God’s spell,” the actor said, looking directly at the pope.

Banderas, who the previous day had directed the cast of the musical “Godspell” in a special performance during a prayer vigil with young people in Madrid’s Plaza de Lima, also evoked the popular piety of his native Málaga and the Holy Week processions that marked his childhood.

In his remarks, Banderas stressed art’s ability to raise deep questions.

“In a world that at times is overly simplified, art helps us recover the depth and the soul that is trying to be stolen by artificial intelligence,” he said.

Earlier, Cardinal José Cobo, archbishop of Madrid, presented Pope Leo XIV as a reference point in the fight against extremism. Along those lines, the pope made clear that the Church has stood, from its earliest days, on the side of culture and art, fostering the encounter of different sensibilities in a shared search for transcendence.

The Church’s “longing” to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world

“The Church, conscious both of her successes and her failures throughout history, longs to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world,” Pope Leo said.

In his address, the pope invited the world today not to dismiss the Church’s “centuries-old experience,” which he said has always “proposed paths for a dignified life and the common good.” In that context, he recalled St. Paul VI, who before the United Nations noted that, whatever one’s opinion of the Roman Pontiff, his mission is well known.

Pope Leo also cited his encyclical “Magnifica humanitas,” published May 25, 2025, to return to a central question: “What does it mean to be truly human?”

To that question, he offered a clear answer: “The Church shares with humility, but also with firmness, what she has discovered through the experience of faith: that Jesus Christ responds to the great questions about human life and its fullness, already in this world and unto its fulfillment in eternity.”

To face these questions, the pope proposed a form of social dialogue that he compared to the art of weaving networks, based on “encounter, listening, dialogue, and respect.” The approach is not new to his visit to Spain. It was already present in his episcopal coat of arms and has been confirmed since his election as Roman Pontiff — a word meaning “bridge builder” — as one who builds a bridge first with God and then with people, societies, and cultures.

In concrete terms, he explained that “weaving networks” means that “the university does not live with its back turned to the world of work or renounce the truth; that business activity does not see the employee as just another factor in the equation of its interests; that art does not have only the elites as its goal; that sport is not reduced to spectacle or turned into mere business; that technological progress takes into account the elderly, the poor, and those who have no voice.”

In that context, the pope — a mathematician by training — recalled with admiration the great classics of Spanish literature, citing Lope de Vega, St. Teresa of Ávila, St. John of the Cross, and Calderón de la Barca. He also recalled the serenity of the prose of St. Thomas Aquinas, from whom the Church has inherited the beautiful hymns of Corpus Christi, the solemnity celebrated Sunday.

For the pope, weaving networks also means “serving in a disinterested way,” as men and women moved by faith have done throughout the centuries by founding hospitals, schools, and charitable initiatives. He therefore invited participants to ask honestly whether Europe could have forged its identity “without the spiritual imprint that has marked its history.”

“This is not a provocation, but an invitation to consider whether eternity, which broke into time and space through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, can once again be reconciled with everyday life,” he said. “Is it really possible to believe that Europe — which we love so much — would be itself without the imprint of faith? Why fear that eternity might permeate daily life?”

Finally, the pope said Christ restores the common good to its central place as an arbiter that “calms the greed of some and nourishes the hope of others, while desiring to save them all.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Madrid, Spain, June 7, 2026 — Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called on Spain to renew its historic Eucharistic faith, warning that the country’s centuries-old religious traditions must not become “a museum of the past to be visited” but remain “a school of faith from which to draw even today.”

The pope made the appeal while presiding over Mass, a procession, and Eucharistic blessing for the solemnity of Corpus Christi in Madrid’s Plaza de Cibeles, one of the Spanish capital’s most emblematic sites.

“As I begin my visit to Spain, it is with a heart filled with joy that I preside over this celebration on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi,” the pope said in his homily.

Corpus Christi has deep roots in Spain and throughout the Catholic world. The feast originated after the efforts of St. Juliana of Cornillon, a Belgian religious sister who promoted a liturgical celebration dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament. Pope Urban IV confirmed the feast for the universal Church in 1264, and within decades it had reached the Iberian Peninsula. King Alfonso X, known as “the Wise,” took part in a Corpus Christi celebration in Toledo in 1280.

Over the centuries, the tradition became firmly established in Spain, making the country one of the great centers of Eucharistic devotion. During the period of the Council of Trent, when the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist was contested in parts of Europe, Spanish popular piety continued to exalt it through processions, music, art, and public expressions of faith.

In Madrid, Pope Leo said Corpus Christi is “more than just another celebration on the liturgical calendar.”

“It is a way of returning to the heart of the faith to renew our love and fidelity to God,” he said.

“The solemn processions held on this day have for centuries shaped the piety, art, music, architecture and life of the Spanish people,” the pope continued. “Even today, they still express and manifest the spiritual sentiments of this country through the beauty and elegance of the floral carpets, the altars erected in the streets, the carefully crafted monstrances and stands, the hymns and the liturgical vestments.”

The setting itself added a striking backdrop to the celebration. Plaza de Cibeles, crowned by the statue of the Roman goddess in a chariot drawn by lions, is known internationally as the place where Real Madrid celebrates its titles. On Sunday, however, the square’s focus was Christ in the Eucharist.

One participant joked that with Pope Leo XIV in Madrid, the Spanish capital had three lions.

The pope said the Corpus Christi procession is not “an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty.”

“It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us, who becomes bread to satiate our hunger for life, and visits the recesses of our hearts and history, even those shrouded in darkness,” he said.

The procession route, about 600 meters along Calle de Alcalá, one of Madrid’s central thoroughfares, was adorned with 16 floral carpets — eight on each side — made with more than 30,000 carnations. Numerous faithful joined the pope, including many boys and girls who had recently received their first Communion.

Pope Leo said the procession reveals that Christ “is not confined to the church, but comes out to meet us.”

“Jesus travels the streets, crosses the squares and visits our neighborhoods, dwelling in the settings of our daily lives,” he said. “He is a God who is close to us, who walks with his people, the Lord of history.”

The pope also connected Corpus Christi with charity, noting that the Church in Spain has long associated the solemnity with the Day for Charity.

“The Christ who processes through the streets in the monstrance is the same one who identifies with the poor, the downtrodden, those who are alone and forsaken,” he said.

“It is not merely a matter of bringing out the monstrance,” Pope Leo emphasized, “but of allowing ourselves to be brought out of our selfishness and indifference, of a comfortable, private faith, so as to respond to his invitation to conversion, to change our perspective, and to welcome his presence which transforms us and makes us builders of a new world.”

Among the faithful who took part in the celebration was Sister Maribel, a member of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, whose community is opening a convent in Huelva.

Speaking with emotion, she summed up her experience to ACI Prensa: “I loved everything. It was extraordinary. I need to read and reread and pray with the Holy Father’s homily. It was very intense. Above all, I leave with the motto ‘Lift up your gaze.’ I don’t know — it is a phrase that encompasses life and every detail.”

The pope said the historical memory of Spain’s Corpus Christi processions “is not confined to wistful nostalgia.”

“Instead, it stands as an invitation in the present moment, in our daily lives, in our relationships, in society, and in the building of the future,” he said.

That, he added, is the task facing Spain today and tomorrow: “to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today.”

The pope described that school of faith as one that “teaches us to kneel before God and before our neighbor, because no one can kneel before the Lord and despise their brother.”

It is also, he said, “a school that teaches us of the gratitude of love that becomes a gift, so that it may flow among us and break the chains of all selfishness.”

From the Eucharist, he continued, Catholics learn “that God is a real presence and that we too are called to be present in the realities and challenges of society, not shying away, but personally committing ourselves to the building of the common good.”

Pope Leo also recalled St. Manuel González García, the Spanish bishop known as “the bishop of the abandoned tabernacle.”

“His life reminds us that the Eucharist should be honored not only during great celebrations or on special occasions, but also through the silent fidelity of those who accompany the Lord with a humble and quiet friendship that is nourished day by day,” the pope said.

The pope also cited St. John of the Cross, recalling that while imprisoned in harsh conditions in Toledo around the time of Corpus Christi in 1578, the Spanish mystic recognized the hidden presence of the Lord even in darkness.

“The Eucharistic Jesus is ‘that eternal spring that is hidden’ — a spring that flows and quenches thirst, yet without blinding, without imposing itself through outward power, without presenting itself in a spectacular way,” the pope said.

Pope Leo closed by urging the faithful to return to Christ in the Eucharist with “sincere love.”

“Let us open ourselves to the encounter with him, let us allow him to quench the thirst of our hearts, so that we may then go forth into the paths of life and history, bringing to the people this stream of fresh water, a stream of love, peace, justice and joy,” he said.

“Let us drink anew from this Eucharistic spring, which does not enclose us in private devotion, but sends us out to refresh our brothers and sisters, our families, the poor, the suffering, and those who have lost hope,” the pope said. “Eucharistic grace transforms us and makes us protagonists of the transformation of history, a sign of hope for those we meet.”

“May the Lord Jesus, present in the Eucharist, transform you into bread that is broken, given, and offered,” he concluded, “so that a life of fullness may spring forth for you, for your families, and for your country.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Pope Leo XIV launched his six-day trip to Spain on June 6 by meeting with the countryʼs royalty before holding gatherings with civic leaders and huge crowds of young people in the capital city of Madrid.

The Holy Father met with the countryʼs King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia before paying a visit to a social services project in Madrid and then finishing the day with a massive gathering of hundreds of thousands of young Spanish citizens in the cityʼs Plaza de Lima.

See photos of Pope Leo XIVʼs first day in Spain below.

Pope Leo XIV waves as he prepares to board an ITA Airways flight to Spain on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard the papal plane from Rome to Madrid on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV disembarks from an ITA Airways flight from Rome to Madrid, Spain, on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV is welcomed to Spain by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, in a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV addresses the king and queen of Spain, authorities, and the diplomatic corps at the Royal Palace in Madrid on June 6, 2026, the first day of his apostolic journey to Spain. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV greets a girl in a wheelchair during a meeting with a group of around 40 people with longterm illnesses or disabilities on June 6, 2026, at the nunciature in Madrid, Spain. | Credit: Vatican Media. Pope Leo XIV hugs a boy during a meeting with a group of around 40 people with longterm illnesses or disabilities on June 6, 2026, at the nunciature in Madrid, Spain. | Credit: Vatican Media. Pope Leo XIV meets with a group of around 40 people with longterm illnesses or disabilities who are cared for by charities in the Archdiocese of Madrid on June 6, 2026, at the nunciature in Madrid, Spain. | Credit: Vatican Media. Pope Leo XIV meets staff and beneficiaries, including migrants, of the CEDIA 24 Horas center, part of the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets staff and beneficiaries, including migrants, of the CEDIA 24 Horas center, part of the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets a woman from Cuba and her twin babies during an encounter with staff and beneficiaries, including migrants, of the CEDIA 24 Horas center, part of the Caritas of the Archdiocese of Madrid in Spain on June 6, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV greets young people at Madridʼs Plaza de Lima, June 6, 2026. The Holy Father began his six-day apostolic visit to Spain meeting with the countryʼs royalty and civil leaders along with hundreds of thousands of youth. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV speaks with young people at Madridʼs Plaza de Lima, June 6, 2026. The Holy Father began his six-day apostolic visit to Spain meeting with the countryʼs royalty and civil leaders along with hundreds of thousands of youth. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV looks upon the Blessed Sacrament after a meeting with young people in Madridʼs Plaza de Lima, June 6, 2026. The Holy Father began his six-day apostolic visit to Spain meeting with the countryʼs royalty and civil leaders along with hundreds of thousands of youth. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Pope Leo XIV was greeted by a spirit of youthful eagerness in Madridʼs Plaza de Lima on the evening of June 6, with many youth crying with emotion and others chanting: “This is the popeʼs youth!”

The event brought together more than 600,000 young people, according to the authorities.

Pope Leo XIV greets young people at Madridʼs Plaza de Lima, June 6, 2026. The Holy Father began his six-day apostolic visit to Spain meeting with the countryʼs royalty and civil leaders along with hundreds of thousands of youth. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

The pope was especially comfortable in Spanish, a language in which he spoke on several occasions. At one point he told the crowd of hundreds of thousands of youth: “You can change history, do it with love.”

At another time, he unambiguously encouraged young people not to fear vocational commitment: “Never be afraid of having a vocation for priestly life or religious life.”

And he added: “You donʼt have to be afraid to get married and start a family.”

Addressing questions from young people, the pope said at one point: “The disciples of Jesus are always contemporaries, but never prisoners of the passing time. We are free in Christ!"

The pontiff stressed that Christ frees “with his love,” a love that leaves the person “always free in the face of all coercion and deception.”

“We are free from fashions, because we are disciples of the truth; we are open to the future, because we know that death does not await us,” he said.

Likewise, he entrusted young people with a great “mission,” namely: “Be human! Men and women of flesh and blood. Not appearances, but reliable faces. People who seek justice because they are hungry for it, as for the daily bread.”

“You are human as Christ is, the perfect man, the Risen One who shares history with us at all times. Cultivating this commitment, look at the Apostles, the first Christians, inhabitants of a pagan world,” he added.

Before his speech, the Pope heard several testimonies. Among them was that of Niurka, a young 33-year-old Cuban lawyer who arrived in Spain a little over a year ago, pushed by the serious economic and political crisis of her country. “I was very scared. But the Church welcomed me,” he said.

Khadry also spoke of his experience coming from Senegal. He arrived in Spain in 2020 after surviving the dangerous Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. In a gesture full of symbolism, he gave the pope his residence card, reflecting the importance of regularization in starting a new life.

In his remarks, Leo XIV also issued a warning to Christians against the risk of being dragged by currents outside the Gospel.

He pointed out that, frequently, Christians “allow themselves to be infected by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic positions that lead to unfair generalizations and misleading conclusions.”

“The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the fixation of some and not the incandescent core of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that it is always necessary to read the Gospel again, so as not to run the risk of replacing it with the worldly mentality,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

An association of women working in the Vatican has welcomed the appointment of Maria Montserrat Alvarado as the new prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.

“On behalf of the Women in the Vatican Association (DIVA), I would like to extend our warmest wishes to you on your new appointment as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, entrusted to you by the Holy Father,” wrote association President Margarita Romanelli, who recently retired after working for 31 years at the Vatican in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Pope Leo XIV named Alvarado, the president and chief operating officer of EWTN News since 2023, as prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication on June 2. The appointment will take effect Nov. 1. She is the first laywoman who is neither consecrated nor a religious sister to hold such a post.

Maria Montserrat Alvarado with Matthew Bunson (center) and Msgr. Roger Landry, at the Vatican on April 24, 2025. | Credit: EWTN News

“Our association is composed, as the name suggests, of lay, religious, and consecrated women who work or have worked in the Holy See, the Roman Curia, and its affiliated institutions,” Romanelli’s statement said.

“Our purpose is to create an increasingly constructive and fruitful network of knowledge, friendship, and solidarity among all members, to promote their professional, human, and spiritual growth.”

“To respond to our vocation as women, our model is Mary, Mother of the Church, who urges us to make the most of all that femininity encompasses and signifies, striving to be witnesses of sisterhood as daughters of the one Father, and looking to the future as women of authentic Christian hope,” the statement continued.

“With renewed wishes for fruitful service, we earnestly invoke the Lord’s blessing upon your ecclesial mission, entrusting you [Alvarado] to the protection and intercession of the Most Holy Virgin.”

There are many women working in the Vatican who collaborate with the association, including many from the communication dicastery.

Alvarado will be 40 when she takes up her post in November. Like the pope, she has connections both to Latin America and the United States: She was born in Mexico City and educated in the U.S.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, an Italian language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

MADRID — Pope Leo XIV told government leaders in Spain on June 6 that he came to the country “to confirm, encourage and inspire a renewed loyalty of believers to the Gospel, as well as a deeper reconciliation and cooperation between the different forces of this Nation.”

The Holy Father landed at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport after which he moved directly to the royal residence. There he was received with honors by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.

Pope Leo XIV is welcomed to Spain by King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and their daughters Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, in a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

The pope warned that his message of reconciliation “resonates for some as naive and for others as provocative,” but he said it is “welcomed in those who do not close themselves in prefabricated ideologies, but who open up to the truth.”

“The truth is always greater than us and that is why it surprises us and attracts us to paths of purification and reconciliation, in which dialogue with others — and with the Other with capital letters — becomes fundamental,” he added.

In his speech, the pope cited two great Spanish mystics of the sixteenth century, Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Jesus, both of whom he said are united by their “passion for the divine Mystery.”

He presented them as examples of “mystics with open eyes,” that is, “not alien to history, but, on the contrary, [getting at] the root of the questions, to the heart of reality.”

The pontiff also alluded to contemporary fears caused by “the darkness of reason and the violence of emotions,” and proposed as an antidote the need for men and women capable of “intuiting, in the darkness, the light.”

To illustrate this idea, he evoked the image of the “inner castle” developed by Saint Teresa of Jesus.

Far from proposing an evasive spirituality, the pope stressed that it is not “an intimate flight, but a radical opening” to the totus Alius et semper Novus, a theological expression that refers to the transcendence of God and that “is carried out when we return to ourselves.”

Protecting religious freedom and conscience

“This dimension of the human being is the reason why religious freedom and conscience must be protected,” he said.

He also quoted St. Ignatius of Loyola, who “preferred peace to weapons and saints to the powerful,” and he recalled the work of the School of Translators of Alfonso X the Wise, where specialists from the three religions collaborated in the transmission of classical and medieval knowledge.

He mentioned thinkers such as Averroes (1126-1198) and Maimonides (1138-1204) as examples of the possibility of cooperation between religious traditions for the common good.

“Our era, which apparently is shaken by terrible imbalances and conflicts, cries out in the deepest for peace, for a new knowledge of the human person and his inviolable dignity, for the civilization of love,” he said, alluding to his encyclical Magnifica humanitas, published on May 25.

The pope did not avoid addressing one of the most accentuated features of the current political context in Spain: polarization.

“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the fire of polarization seems to grow, instead of decreasing; human dignity does not stop being violated,” he lamented.

Aware of the social and political tension, the pontiff urged leaders to “abandon the divisive and polarizing narratives of your social reality and its history, to move from sterile simplifications to the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”

A visit with international implications

Although Leo XIV has already made other trips, this is his first major visit to a major European country. The pope briefly visited the city-state of Monaco in March.

The Holy Fatherʼs visit to Spain — the ninth that a pope has made to the country — transcends the national scope, by constituting a significant step in the pontiffʼs dialogue with the contemporary Western world in which the Catholic Church has a fundamental role.

This was also pointed out by Felipe VI, who took the floor before the pope and underlined his voice as a universal moral beacon, not only for Catholics: “[His voice] is today a source of inspiration for more than 1.4 billion faithful; but it resonates, by its ethical content, far beyond, in all consciences.”

“The Catholic Church is at the service of this thirst of the human heart. Not in an imposing way, but with the evangelical testimony backed by a multitude of martyrs and saints, and today she is willing to put herself at the service of the future of a people who seek reconciliation and peace,” he said.

“Catholic faith is rooted in our country and without it — you well know — our history and our culture would not be understood.”

The pope also had words of recognition towards Spain for its international role: he highlighted “fidelity to international law and multilateralism,” as well as its commitment to peace and solidarity. At the same time, he urged leaders to strengthen internal dialogue, attend to the most vulnerable and “harmonize the demands for autonomy and unity.”

This has not been the first meeting between the Spanish royal family and the pope.

On March 20, Felipe VI and Letizia traveled to Rome, where the monarch was invested in the proto-canon of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor in a ceremony that highlighted the historical links between the Spanish monarchy and this temple.

Likewise, both the king and queen attended the opening Mass of the pontificate on May 18 of last year.

Follow here for live updates of Pope Leo XIV’s journey to Spain from June 6–12.

Pope Leo XIV will visit Spain from June 6–12, making stops in Madrid, Barcelona, the Canary Islands, and Tenerife. This is the ninth time a pope has visited the country. John Paul II visited Spain five times and Benedict XVI traveled there on three occasions.

During this trip, Pope Leo will take part in 20 official events, with some of the most anticipated moments being a large vigil with young people, an open-air Mass celebrating Corpus Christi, and a procession through the streets of Madrid.

Here are 10 things to know about the Church in Spain, with a special focus on areas the Holy Father will be visiting.

1. Spain is the country that sends out the most missionaries.

Spain currently leads the world in sending Catholic missionaries to other countries and is also one of the top financial supporters of the Pontifical Mission Societies. According to the 2024 report of the mission group, Spain has nearly 10,000 missionaries, about 5,000 of whom are active; more than half are women and most serve in the Americas.

2. Pope John Paul II called Spain “Tierra de María” (“Mary’s land”).

St. John Paul II when he was pope repeatedly referred to Spain as “Mary’s land,” especially during his 1982 and 2003 visits, pointing to the country’s dense network of Marian shrines and devotions. Spain is literally dotted with Marian sanctuaries — from major basilicas to tiny hilltop hermitages — so that almost every region has its own beloved Marian title, feast, and pilgrimage.

3. Itʼs a place of Christian witnesses and martyrs.

The Spanish Civil War left one of the largest “footprints of martyrdom,” according to Spanish historian Monsignor Vicente Carcel Orti, in modern Church history, and it has profoundly shaped Spain’s map of saints and blesseds. During the war and the wider period of persecution, around 6,832 bishops, priests, religious, and nuns were killed for their faith, along with thousands of lay Catholics who risked their lives to protect clergy and religious.

Out of this mass persecution, the Church has gradually recognized a very large number of martyrs: In 2007, the October beatification of 498 martyrs under Benedict XVI was the single-largest beatification ceremony ever held. By the late 2000s, nearly 1,000 martyrs of the Spanish Civil War had been beatified or canonized.

4. Madridʼs cathedral was consecrated by a pope.

One of Madridʼs most important Catholic landmarks is the Cathedral of Our Lady of Almudena, which was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. Such papal consecrations are relatively rare outside Rome, giving the cathedral special significance in Spanish Catholic life. The building remains a focal point for major religious celebrations in the Spanish capital.

Construction of Almudena Cathedral began in 1883 and was not completed until 1993. The century-long project reflects both the enduring importance of Catholicism in Spain and the architectural evolution of the modern era. Today, the cathedral stands across from the Royal Palace of Madrid, symbolizing the historic relationship between church and crown.

5. Madrid’s Marian patroness was “hidden in the walls.”

Madridʼs patron saint is the Virgin of Almudena, whose image is linked to a centuries-old tradition dating back to Spainʼs medieval period. According to tradition, as Moorish forces invaded the region in A.D. 712, the citizens of Madrid secretly hid their beloved statue of the Virgin Mary inside the thick stone walls of the cityʼs fortress, leaving two lit candles beside it. In 1085, after King Alfonso VI reconquered Madrid, the Christians searched for the statue. While processing around the city walls, a section of the wall miraculously crumbled, revealing the statue perfectly preserved with the candles still burning after centuries.

That same venerable image will be processed through the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium during the Holy Father’s meeting with the diocesan community of Madrid on June 8.

6. Spainʼs royal family has strong ties to the Church.

Spainʼs royal family maintains strong ties to the Catholic Church, and one of the most visible examples came in 2004 when then-Prince Felipe married Letizia Ortiz in Madridʼs Almudena Cathedral. The ceremony highlighted the continued role of Catholic traditions in important national events.

7. Barcelonaʼs most famous church is a catechesis in stone.

The Basilica of the Sagrada Família is more than just an architectural masterpiece — it was built to be a tool of evangelization. Its founders envisioned a church that would communicate the Christian faith through art, symbolism, and architecture, making it one of the worldʼs most distinctive expressions of the Catholic faith.

Visitors to the Sagrada Família encounter a visual retelling of Christianityʼs central story. The basilicaʼs major façades depict the Nativity, the Passion, and the glory of Christ — which is dedicated to the glory, ascension, and eternal life of God.

The Sagrada Família has become the tallest church building in the world at 566 feet. Despite its immense scale, the basilica was designed to direct attention toward God rather than human achievement.

The famous basilica was originally designed by Francisco de Paula del Villar in 1882. However, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí took over the project in 1883 and completely transformed the design into a blend of Gothic and Art Nouveau styles, overseeing its construction until his death in 1926. After his passing, several other architects have continued his work with the goal of fulfilling his original vision.

Gaudí deliberately planned the Sagrada Família so that it would remain slightly shorter than Barcelonaʼs nearby Montjuïc hill, because he believed no human work should surpass Godʼs creation.

8. The architect of Sagrada Família may one day be a saint.

Antoni Gaudí was known for his intense personal faith and devotion to the building of the Sagrada Família. The Vatican announced April 14, 2025, that Pope Francis had formally recognized Gaudí’s “heroic virtue,” a key step in the canonization process. Two miracles attributed to Gaudí’s intercession are now required for his canonization.

9. Tenerifeʼs great Marian shrine is the Canary Islands' most important pilgrimage site.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria in Tenerife is the most important Catholic pilgrimage site in the Canary Islands. For generations, it has served as the spiritual heart of the archipelago and remains a major destination for pilgrims and visitors, drawing roughly 2 million visitors a year.

The basilica is dedicated to the patron saint of the Canary Islands — the Virgin of Candelaria. Tradition holds that the image of the Virgin of Candelaria was venerated by the Indigenous Guanche people before Spain completed its conquest of Tenerife. The Virgin of Candelaria is often associated with the tradition of Black Madonnas — dark-skinned images of Mary that are venerated in various parts of the world.

10. The Canary Islands were an early Catholic outpost.

The Canary Islands are divided into two Catholic dioceses: one centered in Las Palmas and the other in San Cristóbal de La Laguna on Tenerife. These were established in the early 15th century, decades before the evangelization of much of the Americas. This made the islands an important frontier of Catholic expansion during a pivotal period in world history.

Because of their strategic location in the Atlantic, the Canary Islands became a key stopping point for explorers, missionaries, and settlers traveling between Europe and the Americas. As a result, the islands played a notable role in the spread of Catholicism across the New World.

Pope Leo XIV received members of German Catholic student associations at the Vatican on June 5, reminding them that they “represent Catholic values in society not as those who carry partisan flags but as representatives of the common good of humanity.”

In his address in the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Holy Father also highlighted the principles guiding the associations — of which Pope Benedict XVI was also a member — religion, scholarship, friendship, and homeland.

The Catholic faith has never been a label

In his speech, the pope stressed that “in the face of the despotism and ideologies of the past, the Catholic faith has never been merely a veneer or a label but rather a way of life to be shared in university and in work settings.”

He added that the association’s communal dimension benefits not only Germany but also all of Europe. For this reason, Leo XIV encouraged students to devote particular attention to study and to promote “our common humanity,” especially in light of the challenges posed by the technological revolution.

He underscored that the human person is “always relational and limited, and therefore called to become a task for oneself and a gift to the other.”

“Just like the exercise of reason, so too does the light of faith illumine the promises and deceptions of the present time, calling on each person to do their best to help build a just and peaceful society,” he continued.

Addressing the associations' members, he reminded them that by following Christ they represent “Catholic values in society not as those who carry partisan flags but as representatives of the common good of humanity.”

In this way, he reiterated that “the same Catholic faith strengthens our cooperation, without compromising with the trends of the moment, without placing individualistic preferences ahead of the common tradition of the Church.”

He also encouraged them to promote the evangelization of culture, recalling that “the search for truth is a good worth desiring and passing on.”

‘Truth sets us free’

The pope also praised self-discipline and conversion, noting that “by doing our very best, we become responsible stewards in society without being seduced by careers focused on money.”

“Let us rather recognize that culture is the good of humanity: truth sets us free, while falsehood distorts names and things,” he warned.

The Holy Father urged the German students to be “witnesses to Christian humanism” and reiterated that “the world is full of meaning and not an inert entity to be shaped arbitrarily or by the thirst for power.”

“We, in fact, are not random aggregates of particles but bodies open to transcendence: by directing our thirst for life and justice, for wisdom and love, we discover together the truth in knowing, doing, and believing,” he explained.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV recalled that the cultural mission of Christians “is to direct society and history toward this pinnacle of a God-centered life.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, will lead a meeting in Sanremo on Oct. 9 dedicated to the theme “Interreligious Dialogue Today in the Social and Cultural Context of Our Diocese.”

The event is part of a broader diocesan initiative launched by Bishop Antonio Suetta, who published a pastoral letter on Pentecost Sunday outlining guidelines for charity, dialogue, and the proclamation of God’s love to Muslims “who live in our territory,” according to the diocesan website.

The pastoral letter, titled “No One Has Greater Love Than This,” takes its inspiration from two significant anniversaries: the special Year of St. Francis, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV for the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death, and the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council declaration Nostra Aetate.

Bishop Antonio Suetta of Ventimiglia-San Remo, Italy. | Credit: Photo courtesy of Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo

In the document, Suetta emphasizes esteem, welcome, and missionary courage. He recalls the example of St. Francis of Assisi and his historic 1219 encounter with the sultan of Egypt, presenting evangelization first as a witness offered through deeds and the coherence of Christian life, and only afterward through words.

The letter also stresses dialogue and collaboration, beginning from the teaching of Nostra Aetate and the recognition that Christians and Muslims are creatures of the one God. This shared foundation, the bishop writes, calls believers to work together in defense of human dignity and moral values in an increasingly secularized society.

At the same time, Suetta underlines what he describes as the Christian duty of proclamation. Charity and welcome, he writes, must never lead Christians to conceal their spiritual identity. To share the joy of the Gospel and to make known the true face of Jesus Christ — who for Christians is “the way, the truth, and the life” and the revelation of God who is love — is presented in the letter as the highest act of charity Christians can offer.

The pastoral initiative includes concrete proposals, such as specific formation programs and opportunities for encounter promoted by the diocesan Office for Catechetical Pastoral Ministry in collaboration with Caritas.

“Welcoming others with selfless charity, bearing witness to a coherent Christian life, and proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ with freedom and sincere respect are the human means that the Lord asks of us in order to evangelize,” the letter states.

The events will take place during the Church’s missionary month of October. In addition to the Oct. 9 meeting in Sanremo with Cardinal Koovakad, the diocese will hold a missionary vigil on Oct. 17 at the Oratory of the Immaculate in Piazza San Siro.

The presence of the prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue is seen as a sign of support from the Holy See for the diocesan initiative.