From packed squares and emotional encounters with the faithful to emphatic calls for peace, unity, and evangelization, Pope Leo XIVʼs recent visit to Spain offered no shortage of memorable moments. The Holy Father visited Madrid, Barcelona, the Canary Islands, and Tenerife from June 6–12.

Throughout his journey, the pope connected with Catholics across the country while highlighting Spainʼs rich spiritual heritage and encouraging believers to renew their faith in an increasingly secular world.

Here is a look at 10 of the most powerful moments from Pope Leoʼs visit to Spain:

1. Over a million Catholics join Pope Leo for Corpus Christi procession in Madrid

One of the most stunning moments came during the Eucharistic procession on the solemnity of Corpus Christi when 1.6 million people gathered in the famous Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid to be a part of the pope’s celebration of Mass, procession, and Eucharistic blessing.

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.”

Instagram post2. Pope Leo meets with abuse victims

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

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

During the hourlong meeting, 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.”

Shortly before meeting with victims, the Holy Father urged the Spanish bishops 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,” the Holy Father said.

Pope Leo XIV meets with abuse victims in Madrid. | Credit: Vatican Media 3. Pope Leo becomes first pope to address Spanish Parliament

Pope Leo XIV became the first pope in history to address the Spanish Parliament when he spoke to lawmakers on Monday, June 8, the third day of his apostolic journey.

Although he is the third pope to visit Spain, after St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, none of Leoʼs predecessors addressed the legislative body representing the Spanish people.

The pope received nearly seven minutes of applause at the end of his speech, which urged lawmakers to protect human life from conception until natural death.

Tweet4. Pope honors Our Lady of Almudena with Golden Rose

One of the greatest devotions among Spanish Catholics is to Our Lady of Almudena — the patron saint of Madrid.

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.

On June 8, that enduring devotion received one of the Church’s highest marks of recognition when Pope Leo XIV bestowed a Golden Rose upon the historic statue.

“As a symbol of the pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a Golden Rose at her feet,” Leo said during a ceremony at Madrid’s Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena.

The papal honor — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine — recognizes the deep devotion generations of Spanish Catholics have shown to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Almudena.

The exact origin of the gifting of a Golden Rose is unknown, although it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions. The earliest reliable record dates to 1096, when Pope Urban II sent one to Fulcone d’Angers.

Instagram post5. Pope Leo entrusts his pontificate to Our Lady of Montserrat

While in Montserrat, the Holy Father visited the Abbey of Montserrat, which is nestled among towering rock formations that resemble sculpted figures of animals or objects.

At the foot of Montserrat, after praying the rosary, the pope lifted up his prayer: “Let us ask her to help us clothe ourselves only with the armor of God.”

He added: “Let us also consider how the Virgin holds the globe in her right hand, a sign of her maternal care, for the whole world finds a place in her heart. She invites us to recognize one another as brothers and sisters, so that no one is excluded and that communion is stronger than every division,” he added.

The image of Mary currently venerated is a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture, just over 3 feet tall, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus. Except for the faces and hands, the statue is covered in gold, while the Virgin’s dark complexion has earned her the popular nickname “La Moreneta."

“I am happy to come to the feet of La Moreneta to entrust to her, with full confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine ministry and the mission of the Church in a world that cries out for justice and peace,” the pope said.

Pope Leo XIV venerates a 12th-century wooden sculpture of Mary with the Child Jesus in the Abbey of Montserrat, outside of Barcelona, Spain, on June 10, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News 6. Pope Leo prays with young manʼs rosary — then gives it back to him

While in Barcelona, an encounter between the pope and a young man named Sergi went viral.

During the pope’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, Sergi handed Leo his rosary. The pontiff slipped it into his pocket before using it minutes later to pray during the event.

“I just wanted him to bless it, that’s all, but he asked me, ‘Is it for me?’ And I’m not going to say no, so of course I said yes, and he kept it,” the young man told EWTN News.

But the story didnʼt end there. Unexpectedly, after the event, Sergi managed to recover his prized sacramental, now prayed with by the pope.

Instagram post7. Pope Leo visits the tomb of Venerable Antoni Gaudí

Before celebrating Mass at the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, ​​Pope Leo took time to visit the crypt, pray before the Blessed Sacrament, and light a candle at the tomb of Venerable Antoni Gaudí, who designed the iconic basilica more than a century ago.

Gaudí, known as the “architect of God,” died in 1926 and is buried in the basilica crypt. He 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.

Tweet8. Pope Leo celebrates Mass in iconic Sagrada Familia Basilica

One of the historic milestones of Pope Leo’s visit to Spain was the opportunity to realize Antoni Gaudí’s dream: the inauguration and blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ, coinciding exactly with the centenary of the great architect’s death.

The spectacular central spire is crowned by a white cross that makes the basilica the tallest in the world and will be open to visitors starting in 2028.

After Mass, Leo XIV stepped outside to bless and inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ — before a stunning celebration of lights and sacred music — in which the pope, rather than simply putting his stamp on a finished work, charted a course for Christians.

“The Sagrada Família is the tallest church in the world — not to stand out in worldly rankings but to guide the steps of God’s people journeying through this land of Catalonia, with the cross illuminating the path like a lamp lit in anticipation of the Bridegroom’s return,” he affirmed.

“The entire city of Barcelona and all of Catalonia gather in this temple — itself a sign of unity and harmony for all of Spain — and lift their gaze to encounter the face of God the Father, resplendent in his Son-made-man, Jesus Christ,” the pope added.

Instagram post9. Pope Leo blesses a cross made of wood from the boats of migrants

At the Port of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria — a place that became a symbol of the migration crisis in the Canary Islands — Pope Leo offered a powerful witness to the dignity of every human person. Standing at a dock marked by the suffering and loss of those who arrived after dangerous journeys across the Atlantic, he prayed for migrants, denounced human trafficking, and called the world to a deeper examination of conscience.

The visit concluded beside the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of seafarers, where the Holy Father blessed a memorial cross made from the wood of migrant boats and erected in honor of those who lost their lives at sea. Entrusting migrants and all who undertake perilous journeys to her maternal care, he transformed a place once known for tragedy into a sign of hope and remembrance.

Instagram post10. Pope Leo gives a powerful message to human traffickers

During the last day of his papal trip, Pope Leo raised his voice with unusual force.

In Tenerife, he spoke against human traffickers — those who charge staggering sums to allow migrants cross the ocean and those who enslave them mercilessly.

“For every life lost, every family deceived, every body subjugated, every woman threatened, every worker exploited, you will have to appear before divine justice,” the pope said.

“Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage,” he added. “Return what has been taken and make amends as much as you can.”

Leo declared strongly: “Stop. Repent.”

To those who profit from the suffering of others, the Holy Father left open the door of return to God.

“Repent while there is still time,” he said, “for God’s mercy can reach even the most hardened sinner, but it enters only through the narrow gate of truth, justice, and conversion.”

Pope Leo XIV departed Spain for Rome on June 12, finishing a weeklong trip to the European country marked by meetings with national leaders and bishops and a historic Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.

The Holy Father spent time in Madrid and Barcelona before finishing his visit in the Canary Islands off the coast of Europe. Throughout his weekʼs trip he also met with civic groups, including those that minister to migrants, and visited a prison in Barcelona.

The visit finished with the papal plane suffering a malfunction forcing the pope to deboard before takeoff. He ultimately left for Rome on the king of Spainʼs personal airplane after the king personally offered him the use of the aircraft.

Hereʼs a look at the popeʼs final days in Spain before his return to the Holy See:

Pope Leo XIV departs Barcelona for the Grand Canary Islands at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona/El Prat International Airport, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV arrives in the Grand Canary Islands, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with members of humanitarian groups working with migrants in Spain’s Grand Canary Islands, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV greets a boy in a wheelchair in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with Catholics and religious leaders at the Cathedral of St. Anne in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with Catholics and religious leaders at the Cathedral of St. Anne in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain, June 11, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV holds a baby in Gran Canaria, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with migrants in the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, Tenerife, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV waves at crowds during a meeting with organizations that assist with migrant integration, at the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, Tenerife, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV waves to crowds before Mass at the Port of Santa Cruz in Tenerife, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Thousands of Catholics gather for a papal Mass with Pope Leo XIV at the Port of Santa Cruz in Tenerife, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV elevates the Eucharist during Mass at the Port of Santa Cruz in Tenerife, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV boards the papal airplane at Tenerife International Airport, June 12, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV leaves the plane he was to take back to Rome on June 12, 2026, from Tenerife, Spain. A malfunction on the plane forced the Holy Father to depart the aircraft unexpectedly. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV boards the king of Spain’s airplane on June 12, 2026, in Tenerife, Spain. | Credit: Daniel Ibañez/EWTN News

The journey toward holiness is fulfilled in union with Christ’s perfect heart — a holiness that cannot be lived in isolation, Pope Leo XIV said in a message for the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

“Cherish your priestly fraternity: Seek one another, listen to one another, and support one another. The priest who isolates himself slowly fades away; the priest who walks alongside his brothers grows,” the pope said in the June 12 message.

The World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests takes place every year on the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which in 2026 is celebrated on June 12.

The Sacred Heart, Leo said, “is the ‘place’ where holiness is manifested as closeness and tenderness. The priest’s holiness, then, is embodied in humble and courageous nearness, in being all things to all people, and in keeping the gate of the sheepfold open so that many can enter and find pasture and rest.”

“For this reason, we are called to a relationship with God that does not distance us from others but brings us closer to everyone — shaping patient and tender hearts, capable of closeness, compassion, and listening,” he added.

Pope Leo said it is “through the union of our imperfect hearts with Jesus’ pierced heart, our journey toward holiness is fulfilled. It is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us. Such holiness cannot be lived in isolation.”

Reflecting on the mystery of the Lord’s pierced heart, the Holy Father emphasized that holiness is not an abstract ideal but a share in God’s own holiness.

“When he calls us to be holy as he is holy, he indicates that the path we must follow involves being fashioned after his own heart. And for us, dear brothers, this call is particularly radical,” he said, addressing his fellow priests.

The holiness asked of priests, Leo continued, is of a trustful abandonment transformed by the Holy Spirit: “Yet it is precisely here that the great paradox of our priestly life emerges. We are called to share in God’s own holiness, but we carry this treasure in earthen vessels.”

Reflecting on the imperfect, human side of the priesthood, the pontiff noted that “we are limited and imperfect, often weak and weary, and at times wounded. How can such a vulnerable human heart respond to such a high calling? The priest lives this tension. Yet at the same time, he must recognize that he finds peace in the open side of the Lord Jesus.”

“Our humanity is not compartmentalized,” he said. “Prayer, ministry, relationships, weariness, joys, and failures — even time or love that apparently seems wasted — all become privileged places where God reveals himself and his infinite love.”

He urged priests to renew the grace of their ordination through the daily celebration of the Eucharist, prayer, meditation on the word of God, and humble service to others.

“A priestly life that is steady and configured to Jesus’ heart is a credible sign of unity, peace, and mercy. Thus, in an age marked by division and fear, we must be builders of peace and witnesses of the tenderness of the Good Shepherd who knows how to gather the scattered and heal the wounded,” he said.

In his message, Pope Leo invited priests to daily renew their “Here I am” before Christ’s pierced heart and to remember the words of the Curé of Ars, St. John Vianney, who loved to say that “the priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus.”

“This love is a pledge and a guarantee that, if we surrender and offer ourselves completely, nothing of us will be lost,” the pontiff said.

SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LA LAGUNA, Spain — For the first time during his apostolic journey to Spain, which concluded Friday, Pope Leo XIV raised his voice with unusual force.

He did so in Tenerife, speaking against human traffickers: those who charge staggering sums to help migrants cross the ocean and those who enslave them mercilessly.

“For every life lost, every family deceived, every body subjugated, every woman threatened, every worker exploited, you will have to appear before divine justice,” the pope said.

“Break those chains and free those you hold in bondage,” he added. “Return what has been taken and make amends as much as you can.”

Then, in a cry reminiscent of Pope Francis’ 2014 appeal to members of the Mafia, Leo declared: “Stop. Repent.”

To those who profit from the suffering of others, he also left open the door of return to God.

“Repent while there is still time,” he said, “for God’s mercy can reach even the most hardened sinner, but it enters only through the narrow gate of truth, justice, and conversion.”

The remarks came during the pope’s meeting with organizations working for the integration of migrants in the Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna, in the capital of Tenerife, before some 4,000 people.

In this final day of his trip, Leo held a second encounter focused on the reality of migration, underscoring the importance he has given the issue throughout his visit.

Pope Leo XIV listens during a meeting with organizations working for the integration of migrants in Tenerife, Canary Islands, on June 12, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

The pope offered several keys for migrants so they do “not ... remain forever trapped in the role of victims.”

Speaking to “dear migrant brothers and sisters,” Leo said that part of their journey is “to open yourselves with trust to the community that welcomes you, to learn its language, to respect its laws, to get to know its customs, to participate in communal life, and to offer your gifts with gratitude.”

He also addressed Catholics directly, as he had done the previous day in Las Palmas, asking “that integration not be reduced to a social undertaking, however necessary that may be.”

The pope warned of what he called a “silent shipwreck” that can take place after migrants arrive: “Being left alone in a city, without a voice, without ties, work, or a sense of security, and exposed to those who take advantage of vulnerability.”

“Integration means preventing that second shipwreck,” he said.

Leo said integration must take place “without diluting their identity or closing their hearts to the encounter,” adding that “every welcoming society has responsibilities toward those who arrive,” while those who are welcomed also discover that dignity “flourishes when it becomes a duty and a sincere desire to build together with others.”

Before the final Mass that brought his apostolic journey to Spain to a close, the pope asked the faithful not to forget the many migrants from Latin America, the Philippines, and other parts of the world who are already a living part of the community.

“Let yourselves also be evangelized by them,” he said, “for they surely bring with them gifts that Providence has wished to send to you through those who are integrating.”

His predecessor, Pope Francis, summarized the Church’s approach to migration in four verbs: welcome, protect, promote, and integrate. Leo made that vision his own, insisting that integration cannot be reduced to a merely social task.

“Those who come to our parishes need bread, shelter, language assistance, work, and protection,” he said. “They also must find a community capable of offering paths to knowing Jesus Christ through the witness of life and word, while always respecting the conscience and freedom of each person.”

During the encounter, the pope listened to the testimony of Mbacke, a young Senegalese man who arrived as a child, completely alone.

“I have learned alongside my classmates in all the training activities we have: Spanish, cooking, agriculture, masonry, carpentry, repairs, computer skills, sewing, etc., and in my particular case, basic training in Spain,” he said, thanking the Canary Islands’ El Buen Samaritano Foundation, linked to the Parish of Santa María de Añaza in Tenerife, for giving him a family.

“Thank you for receiving young people like me who arrive alone, without family, and who are only looking for an opportunity to start over,” he added.

His testimony put a face on the drama of migrant minors who cross borders without a parent or guardian. For some who have no family, turning 18 can mean “only the street,” once they leave Spain’s child protection system.

Among those waiting for the pope on this final day was Mamadu, 33, originally from Mali. He arrived 15 years ago, still a child. Today he is fully integrated and speaks Spanish perfectly. He told ACI Prensa that he wanted to see the pope and give him a T-shirt he displayed proudly.

Leo also heard from a Venezuelan migrant priest who has served for seven years on El Hierro, the westernmost and southernmost island in the Canary archipelago. The island, the smallest and least populated of the main Canary Islands, has recorded some of the highest migrant arrivals in recent months: Since March 2023, it has received 50,244 immigrants despite having just 11,600 residents.

“There were days and nights when I wanted to stay in the comfort of my house, but I thought: What would Our Lord do?” the priest said. “And I renewed the service being asked of me. And there, amid pain and suffering, there was always some reason for hope, some smile, some grateful face that gave more than enough reason for our commitment.”

The Holy Father also listened to harrowing accounts, including that of Khalid Allad, a 24-year-old Moroccan who, like many others, reached the Canary coast in 2020.

“My journey in a small boat was not easy at all,” he said. “I tried twice. In the first attempt, 20 people died.”

Although his father forbade him from trying again, he set out a year later.

“Although I was afraid, I decided to leave again, this time without his permission,” he said.

Once in Tenerife, he began a new life thanks to the Don Bosco Foundation.

“They offered me a place to live, taught me Spanish, helped me read and write better, and gave me the confidence to move forward,” he said through tears.

Thalia Johana Saldarriaga Diago, a Colombian immigrant who, thanks to Caritas, not only recovered her independence but also became a volunteer helping others in similar situations, also spoke at the meeting.

“In this way,” the pope said, recalling her witness, “yesterday’s stranger can be today’s brother and neighbor.”

The encounter took place as the European Union entered a new and stricter era in migration policy. The Migration and Asylum Pact, the result of years of negotiations among member states, officially entered into force Friday, promising to strengthen control of external borders, speed up asylum procedures, and increase returns of people without the right to remain in EU territory.

After this effort to put a human face on the drama of migration, and before returning to Rome with an expected delay, the pope celebrated a large outdoor Mass at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, on June 12, 2026. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

In his homily, Leo cited Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’ as he reflected on Tenerife’s “tourist vocation” and the island’s contact with visitors from many countries.

“How important it is, especially for those who allow themselves to be guided by the Gospel, not to reduce everything to commerce and profit,” the pope said.

Spain is a global tourism powerhouse, but its success has caused growing tensions in destinations like those the pope visited this week: Madrid, Barcelona, Las Palmas, and Tenerife.

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.

TENERIFE, Canary Islands — “No one leaves their land, their family and their roots by choice when they can live in peace,” said Bousso Diouf, a woman from Senegal who spoke with the moral authority of someone who risked her life crossing the Atlantic in a wooden boat, knowing the journey could last a week or end adrift at sea.

Diouf was among the migrants who greeted Pope Leo XIV at the Las Raíces reception center in Tenerife, where some 700 sub-Saharan African migrants — all adult men — are currently housed. The center is located in the humid Las Raíces area of Tenerife, a eucalyptus-filled area about 3,300 feet above sea level.

The number is relatively low compared with the hardest years of the “cayuco” crisis, especially at the end of 2024, when the center received between 2,000 and 3,000 migrants amid overcrowding and widely reported tensions.

Most of those currently housed at the center come from Senegal, Gambia, and Mali, and on average spend about three months there before being transferred to mainland Spain.

They arrive exhausted after having spent up to 72 hours in police custody for identification and registration procedures.

“We come from countries where poverty, violence, war, persecution, and lack of opportunity forced us to leave,” Diouf said.

Las Raíces opened in 2021 in response to the 2020 crisis, when more than 23,000 migrants arrived on the coasts of the Canary Islands.

Now those numbers have fallen sharply, and the situation is very different.

“Our work is to offer them an initial welcome that is dignified, humane, and organized at an especially difficult moment, immediately after their arrival by sea,” Navarro Atiénzar, regional director of Accem, the NGO that manages the Las Raíces Reception Center for Refugees and Immigrants in Tenerife, told Pope Leo.

The pope arrived in Tenerife early in the morning from Las Palmas and went to the large camp set up inside a former rural military barracks after six marathon days in Spain that had taken him to Barcelona and Madrid.

He listened to those housed there as a father listens when a child opens his heart to recount a trauma.

One young Nigerian man said that crossing the ocean to the Canary Islands means facing hunger, cold, desperation, and often death.

“Many brothers and sisters lost their lives at sea, and others continue to suffer in silence, victims of mafias that take advantage of need and human suffering,” he said.

He also made a plea for humanity: “May we not be seen only as migrants, numbers, or documents, but as people with stories, dreams, families, and hope.”

“We do not ask for privileges. We do not ask for compassion. We ask for respect, humanity, and the opportunity to live with dignity,” he said.

Among those present was also Aliu Ceesay, a 16-year-old Gambian who arrived in the Canary Islands just one month ago in an irregular boat after a difficult journey from his home country. Like many other migrant minors, his goal is to find work so he can help support his family.

Amid an experience marked by uncertainty, Aliu has followed Pope Leo XIV with interest online. The teenager said he wanted to see him in person and was struck by the pope’s message.

“I have been following him on the internet and wanted to see him. He is very kind, very good,” Aliu said. He also emphasized the pope’s inclusive spirit: “He does not care if we are black or white, Muslim or Christian. He wants to help us.”

More than 54,000 people have passed through Las Raíces. Behind each one is a story, a difficult journey, and, above all, a hope.

In his address, Pope Leo repeated the message he gave on the first day he set foot in Las Palmas: “God’s love knows no borders, makes no distinctions, is given to all and brings us together in unity.”

“As I look at your faces and listen to your stories, I also think of your hearts — wounded by so many difficulties, yet also comforted by the love you have received from other open, generous and merciful hearts,” the pope said.

“Christ’s heart suffered and was pierced out of love, and he was also comforted by compassionate people who eased his pain,” he added.

Missionary saints and migrants

The pope dedicated part of his address to missionary saints such as St. Brother Peter of St. Joseph de Betancur and St. José de Anchieta, who set out from the Canary Islands to proclaim the Gospel in the Americas, opening new missionary horizons.

“They too were migrants who ventured into the unknown, carrying faith, hope and charity as their greatest possessions,” he said.

The pope called for “responsibility” with an eye toward future generations, to whom, he said, “we wish to bequeath the heritage of a civilization of love.”

“Migration will play an important role in this,” he said, because it “can become an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment among peoples.”

“Dear brothers and sisters, in a sense, all of us are migrants, for we are all pilgrims on our way to our heavenly homeland,” he said. “Let us help make this journey more humane for everyone by contributing in whatever way we can.”

The pope said the name of the center, Las Raíces — “the roots” — had caught his attention. He recalled that Pope Francis, “who so longed to be with you,” often used the image of roots “to emphasize the importance of remembering our origins, staying united and trusting in the Lord.”

“May this image of roots also help you to be firmly rooted in the Lord, so that no storm may drive you away from his presence, which strengthens and gives life,” Pope Leo said.

At the end of his address, the pope told those gathered: “Dear friends, I carry you in my heart and will remember you in my prayers. May God bless you, your families and all who do good to you. And may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Consolation of Migrants, always accompany and assist you with her maternal protection.”

During the meeting, when the pope announced that he would speak in French and English, many migrants responded with loud applause.

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 the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria — the final stage of his trip to Spain before traveling to Tenerife and returning to Rome on Friday — several deeply moving scenes unfolded.

At the dock of Arguineguín, which six years ago became known as the “dock of shame” due to the abandonment there of thousands of migrants who arrived in precarious boats known as cayucos, the pope threw a wreath of flowers into the sea in memory of those who died during the crossing — just as Pope Francis did on the Italian island of Lampedusa in 2013.

He then prayed before a blue cross made from wooden planks of migrant boats that had reached the Canary Islands and blessed it. Standing nearby was Javier, a volunteer with the Cruz Blanca Foundation, which works directly with migrants there. For him, this papal visit was an opportunity to once again place at the center of public discussion the migration crisis, a human tragedy that he says has become socially normalized.

“The pope gave a strong and moving speech. What he said to the migrants — that they are not numbers or files — really impressed me,” he told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

Later, in the Cathedral of Santa Ana, patroness of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Claretian priest Santiago Cerrato Cáceres gave his testimony to Pope Leo XIV, beginning with a heartfelt confession: “Holy Father, those of us inside here… and all those outside: We love you very much.”

Before him, the bishop of the Canary Islands, José Mazuelos Pérez, described to the pope the pastoral challenges facing the local Church.

Mazuelos lamented the “growing secularization that weakens the sense of God, sacramental practice, and the transmission of the faith in families,” especially among young people, where “the Christian experience is becoming increasingly fragile or marginal.”

In the historic cathedral, whose construction began around the year 1500 at the initiative of the Catholic monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, the pope invited those present to live in unity.

Christians should be “building the Church together, founded on Christ, the ‘cornerstone,’ building up the good, harmonizing our differences, and working united for the good of all,” he said. He also recalled that the life of the Church is built through the communion of its “diverse gifts and ministries.”

Three girls dressed in traditional Canarian costumes welcomed the pope and presented him with a bouquet of flowers. Attentive to every detail despite the fatigue of six days of travel, the pontiff gave them a blessed rosary with a smile.

The three Canarian girls dressed in traditional costumes who welcomed the pope at the cathedral. | Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

Referring to the sea that surrounds the islands, he said it represents the difficulties of life, quoting St. Augustine: “No one is able to cross the sea of this world unless born by the cross of Christ.”

He also thanked the Catholics of Las Palmas for the help they give to these “crucified brothers and sisters.”

After meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, and pastoral workers, the pope was given a genealogical study by the Cabildo, the local governing body, in the hope of finding Canarian roots in his lineage.

Mass in the Canary Islands

In the afternoon, the pope celebrated his first large public Mass at the Gran Canaria Stadium before nearly 40,000 people. “I also invite you to pray together, during this holy Mass, for our brothers and sisters who have lost their lives at sea,” he said.

This is the charity of God, the Holy Father explained, in which our “vocation to love is rooted, which is not based on calculation, nor on mere sentiment, nor reducible to simple philanthropy, but one that invades our entire being: fire for the soul, light for the mind, an irresistible impulse for freedom, peace, and at the same time torment for the heart, which beats in harmony with other hearts, involving the whole person.”

The gratuitousness of the heart of Christ, the pope said in his homily, translates into “helping each person not only to survive but also to recover trust and resume their path, to grow and fully flourish in their uniqueness, for the good of all.”

A fight against cancer, offered for the pope

These words seemed especially directed at Yolanda, one of the volunteers helping with the papal visit. She has battled cancer for nearly two decades and, despite this — or perhaps precisely because of it — she chose to volunteer.

“I’m waiting for a miracle… we all always hope for that. And we keep living,” she said with serenity.

Her body has endured immense suffering: 10 years after her first diagnosis and treatment, the cancer has returned and has spread throughout her body. Several vertebrae are affected, and she has undergone many treatments.

“I thought it was over. But it wasn’t, and here I am, eager to see the pope. I have offered all my suffering for him,” she said.

Yolanda, a volunteer with the papal tripʼs organizing committee, is offering her suffering from cancer for the pope. | Credit: Victoria Cardiel/EWTN News

The pope’s visit to Las Palmas also mobilized hundreds of young people. Four friends from the Parish of San Isidro in the north of the island said they are living this event as a unique moment of faith and community.

One of them, Talía, 25, was overcome with emotion as she recalled the last several days. “I’ve been following everything on TV and crying my eyes out,” she confessed. For her, the pope’s presence is not just a religious event but a deeply personal experience.

The message that touched her most was the pope’s invitation to young people not to be afraid to form a family and make a lifelong commitment. “The part about forming a family and not being afraid of marriage really spoke to me,” she said.

“Today many people are scared to get married. It’s true that birth rates in Spain have risen, but they should rise a little more,” she added with conviction.

Carlos Díaz Alonso, 20, said it was an “immense joy” to see the pope up close. “A pope has never come to the Canary Islands before, and that fills me with pride.”

“That the leader of the entire Catholic world is among us… it’s something very great,” he added.

Like many young believers, Carlos said he sees faith as a practical guide. “In all the things where I can fail in my daily life, I try to be a better person — and even more so now after seeing the pope,” he said, saying his goal is “to try to attain the grace of God.”

The pope will conclude his trip on Friday in Tenerife.

ARGUINEGUÍN, Canary Islands — Pope Leo XIV on Thursday called for an “examination of conscience” on migration during a visit to the port of Arguineguín in Spain’s Canary Islands, a site that became a symbol of the collapse of migration management in 2020.

The small fishing port on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria was once dubbed the “dock of shame” after more than 2,600 migrants were left crowded outdoors there for weeks six years ago, many sleeping on rough concrete after crossing the Atlantic in fragile boats from Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Morocco, and parts of the Sahara.

On June 11, Leo turned the site into what many present described as a dock of hope.

“It is not enough to manage arrivals, distribute figures, reinforce borders, or mourn the dead once they have already died,” the pope said.

Human dignity, he said, “requires legal and safe routes, rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection for victims, serious processes of welcome and integration, and policies that allow each person to live with dignity in his or her own land.”

Along the same lines, the pope emphasized that while there is a right to seek refuge when one’s life is threatened, there is also a right not to be forced to migrate: “the right to remain in one’s own home without hunger, without war, without persecution, without violence, without the land becoming uninhabitable, without corruption stealing the bread of the poor, without weapons destroying the future of children.”

“We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead,” Leo said. “Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border.”

The Canary Islands marked the final stop of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Spain and one of its most symbolically charged moments. Migration remains an open wound in Europe and beyond, and Arguineguín has long stood as one of its most visible scars.

“This tragedy must become an examination of conscience,” the pope said.

Leo directed his appeal to several audiences. Countries of origin, he said, “must create conditions of peace, justice, and development.” Countries of transit, he added, must “not leave the weak in the hands of criminal networks.”

He also addressed Europe directly, saying it “cannot proclaim human dignity and grow accustomed to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic becoming cemeteries without headstones.” The international community, he said, is called to “effective and persevering cooperation.”

The Church, too, “must allow herself to be challenged,” the pope said. “Welcoming the migrant cannot be something secondary or delegated only to a few volunteers.”

The pope also offered a direct message to ordinary Catholics.

“We kneel before the altar to adore Christ present in the Eucharist, from whom we receive the strength and the reason to live charity,” he said. “Therefore, we cannot then ‘pass by’ the cayucos and pateras, because from prayer all service flows and to it every commitment returns.”

The pope invoked the biblical figures of Leviathan and Rahab to describe the “monsters that lurk in these seas: mafias that traffic in despair, traffickers who enslave women and children, and the indifference of many who allow the poor to be swallowed up by exploitation or oblivion.”

But faith, he said, “does not remain paralyzed before the power of the sea.”

“We believe in a God who subdues chaos, sets limits to evil, and opens a path when death seems to prevail,” Leo said.

Where Christ “commands the sea to be silent,” he added, “the Church cannot remain silent before those who are abandoned to its waters.”

The pope said conversion begins when “the migrant stops being just one more person, stops being a category and a number.”

Leo’s visit to the Canary Islands was one Pope Francis had wanted to make but was unable to carry out. Leo delivered a message echoing the one Francis brought to Lampedusa in 2013. Leo is also scheduled to visit the Italian island on July 4, the day the United States marks 250 years since its founding.

“We cannot grow accustomed to counting the dead,” Leo said. “Human dignity has no passport and does not lose its value when crossing a border.”

In a speech interrupted several times by applause, the pope asked that history “not have to accuse us of having turned the pain of those who suffer into the usual landscape of our coasts.”

Before speaking, Leo listened to several testimonies from people close to the migration crisis.

Tito Villarmea, captain of the maritime rescue vessel Urania, said that in 18 years he has helped rescue more than 20,000 people — “a number that hurts and is not forgotten.”

Although irregular arrivals by sea have fallen sharply this year — down about 35% from the previous year — rescue operations have continued, many in extreme conditions. According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, 10,224 migrants arrived irregularly in Spain from Jan. 1 to May 31, down 35.2% from 15,769 during the same period last year. Irregular land entries into Ceuta and Melilla rose 210% to 2,366 people.

Villarmea recalled one rescue involving a mother traveling in a small boat with her child, surrounded by wounded people and lifeless bodies.

“Once safely on board, the woman approached the child, about 14 years old, took off the cap and jacket, and pulled out some gold earrings to put them on,” he said. “It was a girl. She cried and I cried, because I am the father of two teenagers.”

María Reyes Alemán, a Caritas volunteer, also addressed the pope, describing her work accompanying migrants amid the humanitarian crisis.

“We learned that it was not about solving everything, but about being present,” she said, explaining that small gestures such as a smile or a look can also communicate hope.

Another powerful testimony came from Blessing, a Nigerian woman and trafficking survivor who was not present for security reasons. In a letter read aloud, she recounted leaving Nigeria at age 22, leaving behind her two daughters. When the time came to cross the sea, she said, she saw people who had departed before her group that same day drown.

“The mafia took me to a place where they performed a ritual, the ‘juju,’” she said. “They told me I had a debt of 25,000 euros that I had to pay when I arrived in Europe.”

During six months of captivity, she became pregnant by a man connected to the trafficking network.

“When I arrived in Spain, they took my baby away from me to force me into prostitution,” she said. Her forced enslavement ended when her son was 11 months old and police arrested those holding her captive. She said the Church helped her rebuild her life.

Leo also warned migrants like Blessing not to trust those who exploit hopes for a better future.

“Do not believe those who promise easy paradises in exchange for your body, your money, your silence, or your freedom,” he said.

Such false promises, he said, are “siren songs” and “industries of death.”

The pope also mentioned El Hierro, the least populated of the Canary Islands, which has become a major arrival point for migrants, with more than 50,000 irregular arrivals since 2020. The peak came in 2024, with nearly 30,000 arrivals.

The island’s treatment by authorities has prompted frustration from local officials, including Alpidio Armas, the socialist president of the island council, who did not attend the pope’s events.

El Hierro, Leo said, “has seen thousands of people arrive, torn from their land and entrusted to the fragility of a cayuco.”

There, he said, “there are people recovered from the sea and lifeless bodies rescued from the waters.” For that reason, “the successor of Peter cannot turn away from these docks.”

The event concluded with a floral offering in memory of the victims of migration by sea, a symbolic gesture at a place that has become an emblem of suffering but also of solidarity.

The pope then went to a nearby image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of sailors, where he blessed a cross erected as a permanent memorial to those who never reached their destination.

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.

Sergi, a young Catalan man, was surprised by an encounter with Pope Leo XIV in Spain on June 10 he will never forget.

During the pope’s visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, an abbey northwest of Barcelona, Sergi handed Leo his rosary. The pontiff slipped it into his pocket before using it minutes later to pray.

Unexpectedly, the story did not end there — after the event, Sergi managed to recover his prized sacramental, now prayed with by the pope.

Sergi (who asked that his last name not be shared) told EWTN News he had not planned to go to the shrine on the day of the papal visit. He is from Terrassa, a city between Barcelona and Montserrat.

The invitation to go to the popeʼs prayer came unexpectedly through a volunteer with the Missionaries of Charity, connected to his youth group, who encouraged both him and his girlfriend, María, to join the gathering. The night before, they attended the pope’s event at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona and returned so tired that they almost decided not to go again.

However, they felt they could not miss the chance to see Pope Leo during his visit to their homeland, and in order to attend they both had to take the day off from work. They never imagined what would happen or the gift they would receive.

Sergi, María, and their friend secured a spot in the atrium of the basilica, and when the pope arrived, Sergi managed to get very close to the mini-popemobile as it passed by. At that moment he took out his rosary, hoping it would be blessed.

“I just wanted him to bless it, that’s all, but he asked me, ‘Is it for me?’ And I’m not going to say no, so of course I said yes, and he kept it,” the young man said.

Indeed, in a video recorded by EWTN News, the pope can be seen taking the rosary and putting it in his pocket. A few minutes later, to the young couple’s total surprise, they saw the pope praying with Sergi’s rosary in his hands.

“When we saw it on the screen, we realized it was the same one he was using to pray!” Sergi said.

Pope Leo XIV prays with a simple, wooden rosary during a prayer at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, northwest of Barcelona, Spain, on June 10, 2026. The rosary belongs to Sergi, a young Catalan man who gave it to the pope to be blessed. | Credit: Vatican Media.

But the story did not end there. María had the idea of trying to get the rosary back, and when the event ended, they tried. However, the pope was already in the official car, and the security caravan would not allow anyone to approach.

“We tried to tell him, but he just passed us by,” Sergi told EWTN News.

At that moment, the run of his life began. Montserrat, as its name suggests, is set on a mountain range, so he had to run downhill.

“I ran the whole way down until I said, ‘Well, let the pope keep it,’ and I gave up, but my girlfriend told me, ‘Keep trying.’”

So Sergi started running again, sprinting and shouting to the pope to give it back. Knowing the caravan could not stop, he took an extreme measure: asking the pope to throw it to him.

“At that moment I wasn’t thinking — I just knew I wanted to get the rosary back, knowing the pope had prayed with it. I was overwhelmed with excitement by the moment and the situation.”

The pope granted his request, tossing the rosary from the car window as he drove by. Then, with the help of a police officer, Sergi recovered his rosary, now prayed with by the pope.

“We went without expecting anything, and we came back with the greatest gift we could have received,” the young man said, still moved by the experience.

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

Pope Leo XIV continued his historic visit to Spain on June 10 with a whirlwind series of events in Barcelona including a visit to a penitentiary and Mass at the famed Sagrada Familia Basilica.

The Holy Father will now depart mainland Europe and visit the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain, finishing his trip on June 12 before returning to Rome.

Here is a look at what Pope Leo XIV has been up to in Barcelona:

Pope Leo XIV blesses ambulances near Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, June 9, 2026. The Holy Fatherʼs weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV participates in a prayer vigil at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, June 9, 2026. The Holy Fatherʼs weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV visits Brians 1 Prison in Barcelona, June 10, 2026. The Holy Father’s weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV greets crowds at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, June 10, 2026. The Holy Father’s weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV greets crowds at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, June 10, 2026. The Holy Father’s weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV prays at the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, June 10, 2026. The Holy Father’s weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV meets with students while visiting the Benedictine community of Montserrat in Spain, June 10, 2026. The Holy Father’s weeklong trip to Spain includes visits to historic Catholic sites and a trip to the Canary Islands. | Credit: Vatican Media Pope Leo XIV says Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, June 10, 2026. The towering church has been under construction since the 1880s. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News Pope Leo XIV speaks during Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, June 10, 2026. The towering church has been under construction since the 1880s. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

One of the historic milestones of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Spain was the opportunity to realize Antoni Gaudí’s dream: the inauguration and blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ, coinciding exactly with the centenary of the great architect’s death.

“God’s architect” died leaving behind a vast legacy of art and devotion visible throughout Barcelona — like an open-air Gospel sculpted in stone.

The spectacular central spire — crowned by a white cross that makes the basilica the tallest in the world and which will be open to visitors starting in 2028 — is undoubtedly one of them.

Fireworks rise up alongside the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia during the celebration of the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

The celebration marked the conclusion of Leo’s visit to Barcelona before he travels Thursday to two of the Canary Islands — Tenerife and Las Palmas — where the pope will address the suffering of migrants who risk their lives on the Atlantic route in search of a better future.

After Mass, Leo XIV stepped outside to bless and inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ — a beautiful ceremony in which the pope, rather than simply putting his stamp on a finished work, charted a course for Christians.

“The Sagrada Família is the tallest church in the world — not to stand out in worldly rankings, but to guide the steps of God’s people journeying through this land of Catalonia, with the cross illuminating the path like a lamp lit in anticipation of the Bridegroom’s return,” he affirmed.

As he has done since setting foot in Spain on Saturday, June 6, the pope delivered a message of unity and harmony.

Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona on June 10, 2026. |Credit: Vatican Media

“The entire city of Barcelona and all of Catalonia gather in this temple — itself a sign of unity and harmony for all of Spain — and lift their gaze to encounter the face of God the Father, resplendent in his son made man, Jesus Christ,” he explained at the altar of the basilica consecrated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, noting that it stands as a visible sign of the invisible God.

The pope thus called for eyes to be raised toward the Tower of Jesus Christ and toward that inimitable masterpiece, the Sagrada Família.

Scripture, he said, “teaches us that it is not we who give God a place, as if he were an element in a series or part of a whole greater than himself.”

“Rather, it is God who gives us a place, and the place he gives us is his own heart: the place of the Son, for us who were strangers; the place of the Beloved, for us who are sinners,” he declared.

Like a shepherd guiding his flock in the teachings of the Church, the pope continued his interpretation of the Gospel — specifically, the passage where the Lord tells the Pharisees: “If you do not believe that ‘I AM,’ you will die in your sins.”

“Strong words,” the pope remarked, clarifying “that they are by no means threats or blackmail.”

“They are an invitation to salvation — a call to freedom from Christ, who desires our ultimate, eternal good,” he said. In the face of the threat of evil, “the Lord is always with us, always on our side.”

He then uttered one of the most powerful statements of the trip: “Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, and those fleeing from misery.”

Before celebrating the Eucharist, he went down to the crypt to pray and lay a floral offering where the remains of the architect — whom Pope Francis declared venerable in 2025 — rest. Seeing him pray at the tomb served as further encouragement for the cause of the virtuous life of the architect — who died a century ago on this very day — to eventually be inscribed in the Church’s book of saints.

Pope Leo XIV lights a candle before the tomb of Venerable Antoni Gaudí on June 10, 2026. | Credit: Vatican Media

This was one of the most moving moments, as neither John Paul II nor Benedict XVI visited the tomb during their own visits to the basilica.

The foundation stone of the Sagrada Familia was laid in 1882; for 144 years, it has grown alongside Barcelona — and alongside Gaudí himself, up until the day of his death.

The pope’s presence here represents more than just a tour of a work of breathtaking beauty; it carries an eloquence that transcends its commemorative significance. Few works like the Sagrada Familia so powerfully convey that beauty is not a secondary adornment of faith, but rather a way of making God visible.

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.

Since the time Ángeles Hernández discovered her calling to become a pilot after boarding a Boeing 747 as a child bound for a visit to England, she never imagined that, decades later, she would sit in the cockpit of an Iberia airplane flying the successor of St. Peter from Madrid to Barcelona.

During takeoff, the pope was invited to the cockpit, where they shared an exchange she said she will never forget.

“I think I’m still beside myself ... I’m still on cloud nine. I’ve hardly had time to stop and pray, and I believe this is something you process through prayer because otherwise it doesn’t sink in the same way,” the 33-year-old pilot told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, just a day after an experience she said she will always cherish in her heart.

The woman from Extremadura, Spain, said it hasnʼt yet fully sunk in and that she still needs to “bring down to earth” the emotions she experienced on the afternoon of June 9, when Pope Leo XIV sat with her and pilot Pablo Martínez in the cockpit.

Hernández with pilot Pablo Martínez in the cockpit of the Iberia plane that flew the pope to Barcelona. | Credit: Iberia

She said she feels “blessed” and attributed the event to “God’s ways.” She also recalled a conversation with a nun from the Eucharistic Sisters of Nazareth, for whom she holds great affection: “I told her I didn’t know if I deserved something like this, and she replied that it was the Lord’s way of telling me he loved me.”

The video of Hernández with Pope Leo in the cockpit has gone viral around the world.

It shows the pontiff clearly enjoying the experience. “I do think he really enjoyed the flight,” she said. “He mentioned that it was his first time taking off [while in the cockpit] and he asked us technical questions, such as what temperature the engines reach upon startup. He was very curious, and we explained the operation [of the plane] to him as we went along.”

Martinez, the other pilot, told the pope he is a Real Madrid soccer team fan and had enjoyed the popeʼs allusion the day before to the “spectacular goal” scored for the Church in Madrid. The pope jokingly replied that he’s also a “White” (referring to the nickname for Real Madrid fans) and added that one has to “be careful” in Barcelona, ​​given the traditional rivalry between the Real team and Barça (the Barcelona team).

During the journey, the plane carrying the pope was escorted by two Spanish Air Force F-18 fighter jets. At one point during the flight, the cockpit crew made contact with the military pilots.

Hernández said the pope “didn’t hesitate for a moment to put on the headset and pick up the microphone” to speak with Commander López of the Zaragoza Squadron. “It was a unique experience,” she recalled, with feeling.

Hernández also had the opportunity to ask the Holy Father to pray for her family’s intentions and, more broadly, for all families in Spain: “For all their concerns, their intentions, and the illnesses borne in silence, and also for those who care for the sick.”

She also asked him for a blessing for many of her friends and family members.

“The pope told me to let them know they have his blessing and that he is praying for them. I’ll never forget those words — they are truly a gift,” she said.

Although the years of training and the journey to becoming a pilot haven’t always been easy, Hernández stated with conviction: “It’s a matter of putting things in God’s hands and saying, ‘Let’s give it our all; if you are with me, we’ll make it.’

She said faith is an immense gift she received from her parents and grandparents, who were the ones responsible for sowing that initial seed. Over the years, she explained, that seed has been “watered” thanks to many people she has met along the way.

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.

In Barcelona’s Raval — a lively neighborhood where more than half the population is of migrant origin — joy palpably filled the streets on Wednesday.

Before celebrating Mass on June 10 at Barcelonaʼs iconic Sagrada Familia Basilica, Pope Leo XIV brought his affection to this community in one of the cityʼs most disadvantaged yet vibrant areas, demonstrating that the pope has not come to just admire churches but to touch human suffering.

In this neighborhood, St. Augustine Church houses — within the premises of a former convent — a soup kitchen run by the Missionaries of Charity and the Mano Amiga Foundation, which distributes clothing and food to the poor.

The beneficiaries of this ministry include the family of 6-year-old Renzo. He and his family arrived in Spain some time ago fleeing extreme poverty in Peru.

Renzo — a little boy from a vulnerable family struggling to make ends meet — put the pope on the spot.

“Why do bad things happen to some people? And not to others? Whose fault is it? Why are there so many people living on the street? No one sees them; no one helps them,” he asked the Holy Father with the sweet innocence of a child.

But before addressing that question, the pope answered another: whether he had wanted to be pope when he was a child.

“I didn’t want to be pope, neither as a young man nor as an old man,” the pontiff remarked, drawing laughter from those present.

But “when the Lord calls, one must say yes,” he added. It was evident that the pope felt at ease in this parish. He even said: “I truly feel at home here, and thank you for everything you represent.”

Leo shared that “it is not easy to find the answer, Renzo, to your question about why bad things happen to some people while others are spared,” while noting that “reflecting on the life of Jesus might help us.”

“God’s word tells us that Our Lord ‘went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,’ and yet we know he was crucified. But the story did not end there, for he rose again on the third day, conquering both evil and death,” the Holy Father recalled.

The pope emphasized that “through the life of Jesus Christ, God shows us that, even amid suffering, he never abandons any of his children, for he has prepared eternal joy for us — a place where there will be no more sorrow or pain. Let us have confidence; Jesus is with us, helping and accompanying us, and giving us the strength to navigate the difficult moments we may encounter in life.”

During a diocesan meeting with organizations dedicated to social assistance, the pope highlighted the aid they provide to people living in this neighborhood marked by marginalization.

Each diocesan ecclesial community, he noted — moved by charity and guided by the Holy Spirit — “is called to reach out, according to its own means and capabilities, and with discretion, sensitivity, and perseverance, to the wounds and needs of the least and most vulnerable, in order to alleviate their suffering and remedy their poverty.”

As Christians, he affirmed, “we are called to the task of making God’s love for every man and woman present within the concrete fabric of history.”

Also present at the gathering were the four Augustinians living in Barcelona and the surrounding area who served as hosts: two Tanzanians and two Filipinos who minister at neighborhood parishes and one in Badalona.

The pope focused much of his address on forgiveness. “Forgiving does not mean saying that what was wrong was actually right, nor does it mean letting someone continue to cause harm. It does not mean forcing oneself to forget, as if nothing had happened,” he explained.

[Forgiving] does not mean forcing oneself to forget, as if nothing had happened.”

Pope Leo XIV

Forgiving, he added, “means not letting hatred take over our hearts.” He emphasized: “Jesus asks us to forgive because it is the only way to experience God’s peace and heal spiritual wounds.”

The pontiff also addressed one of the most painful social ills: the loneliness of the elderly. “Let us not allow loneliness and abandonment to become the norm in the lives of older adults. That is a very sad thing,” he warned.

Renzo also asked the pope if he liked soccer, a question that drew laughter from those present.

As is well known, the pope plays tennis, but he revealed that he also played soccer as a young man. He shared that in Peru, he “followed the local teams closely” while also playing soccer alongside the seminarians.

“A little sport is good for everyone,” he said, concluding the moving encounter.

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.

With the FIFA World Cup set to begin on Thursday, during his apostolic visit to Spain Pope Leo XIV shared a reflection regarding soccer, highlighting the importance of learning teamwork as a lesson for life.

“Soccer also helps us remember something very important: that life is not a race to be run in solitude; it is something played as a team, and we must learn to run together,” the pontiff observed during a meeting with members of diocesan charitable and assistance organizations at the Church of St. Augustine in Barcelona.

“Someone who could be a star but never passes the ball — doesnʼt let the others get into the game — will probably lose,” the pontiff added while answering questions from Renzo, a 6-year-old boy who wanted to know if the Holy Father liked soccer.

At the outset of his remarks on the subject, the Holy Father mentioned that he currently plays tennis but used to play American football in his youth.

He also recalled his time as a missionary in Peru and the love for sports that he shared with seminarians there. “When I was in Trujillo, I played soccer — on defense, if you want to know; I wasnʼt a big goal-scorer,” he recounted.

“A little sport is good for everyone; one has to find ways to — let’s say — maintain and enjoy good health: body, mind, and soul. So, that has indeed been a part of my life,” he continued.

Finally, he connected the topic of sports to the social work carried out by Church communities in Barcelona, ​​describing them as a team working in unity. “I want to acknowledge and commend everything you are doing here,” 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.

Pope Leo XIV has called for greater respect for the elderly, affirming that their fragility still has much to teach humanity today.

In a letter sent via the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to the participants of the June 10 symposium in Rome titled “A Bridge Toward Heaven,” the pontiff expressed his hope that their efforts would encourage “renewed attitudes of respect, gratitude, and esteem toward the elderly.”

Leo also criticized the modern tendency to equate strength with mere displays of power. “The society we live in is dominated by the logic of performance and competition, whereby strength is conceived as a display of power and tends to degenerate into abuse,” the message said.

The pope also praised the witness of the elderly in their physical weakness with age and described them as offering profound lessons for the younger generation, who might not yet recognize their value.

“The elderly, in the serene acceptance of the limitations linked to the passing of the years, without hiding them or being ashamed of them, can be teachers of life, capable of showing everyone — and especially young people — that the value of an existence is not measured by the yardstick of efficiency or self-sufficiency but by the capacity to love and to let oneself be loved, to give and to receive,” the message said.

Amid worsening armed conflicts in countries such as Ukraine, Nigeria, and those in the Middle East, a group of teenagers recently came to Rome to launch a new peace initiative, Project Oxygen.

From May 31 to June 5, 40 teenagers from war-torn regions worldwide, including Ukraine, Nigeria, and the Middle East, participated in peace-building workshops on diplomacy and political engagement in conflict-affected areas. Through Project Oxygen, they aim to shift current narratives about conflict toward a future of creativity and compassion.

Their activities included visits to Vatican dicasteries and the Italian Parliament, conferences on artificial intelligence, and a Wednesday general audience with Pope Leo XIV.

One of the participants, Olena from Ukraine, expressed her conviction that her young generation can make a difference by uniting around shared values in a divided world.

“We can make a change altogether and understand what things and circumstances unite us, and by that go to peace altogether,” Olena told EWTN News.

Kathleen Hessert, founder of Project Oxygen and CEO of Sports Media Challenge, added: “The people in charge have not been able to come up with the solutions to peace. So we need to look somewhere else. And [by] their creativity and their imagination, these kids can bring a vibrancy, a creativity, and a dedication to peace.”

MONTSERRAT, Spain — The rugged silhouette of the Montserrat mountain range was one of the first symbols of Catalonia that Pope Leo XIV saw from above as his plane brought him to Barcelona from Madrid on June 9.

The following day, the pope traveled by car to the mountainous area of Montserrat — whose name in Catalan means “serrated mountain” — home to a Benedictine abbey, which rises to a height of over 4,000 feet on the west side of the Llobregat River.

Before arriving, however, the pontiff made a brief detour during the approximate 25-mile journey from Barcelona to stop at Brians 1 Penitentiary Center — a place steeped in suffering, where the lives of inmates find some comfort thanks to the prison chaplain, Father Jesús Bel, coordinator of prison ministry for the Diocese of Sant Feliu de Llobregat and a Mercedarian priest who has spent 40 years accompanying those deprived of their freedom.

As he did during his trip to Equatorial Guinea, the pope embraced the suffering carried by prisoners.

There, he heard directly from two inmates, Montserrat and Josefina, about the importance of having an anchor such as faith in Christ when life shows its harshest face. Their testimony moved the pope.

“Here in prison I am not alone — Jesus gives me strength, he gives me life. I feel him within me; otherwise, I don’t know how I could have endured this,” Josefina told him.

After her words, a heavy silence fell. Then, Leo offered a reflection that resonated among those present: “The mistakes of a person’s life do not determine who they are.”

God loves you as you are

The pontiff invoked St. Augustine to underscore that the past does not chain the future, adding: “God loves you just as you are, but he dreams of you being even better! The Lord allows us all to start anew, for being human and being Christian does not mean never making mistakes, but rather growing in the ability to convert, repent, make amends, and, above all, to reconcile and forgive.”

The encounter — though barely 20 minutes — set the tone for the rest of the day: the mercy of God embracing even the darkest hearts.

The ascent to Montserrat

After visiting the prison, the pontiff headed to the Abbey of Montserrat, nestled among towering rock formations that resemble sculpted figures of animals or objects. The monastery radiates peace both inside and outside its ancient walls.

In 1025, Abbot Oliba, then superior of the monastery of Ripoll, founded a smaller monastery on the mountain of Montserrat at a site where a small hermitage dedicated to the Virgin already stood.

According to tradition, the first image of the Virgin — known in Catalan as “La Mare de Déu de Montserrat” — was discovered in the year 880 by children tending a flock in a cave after seeing a light on the mountain.

When the bishop learned of the discovery, he sought to move the small statue to Manresa but was unable to do so because it became too heavy — a sign, he believed, that the Virgin wished to remain there. He then ordered a sanctuary to be built on the spot.

At the foot of Montserrat, after praying the rosary, the pope lifted up his prayer: “Let us ask her to help us clothe ourselves only with the armor of God.”

“Let us also consider how the Virgin holds the globe in her right hand, a sign of her maternal care, for the whole world finds a place in her heart. She invites us to recognize one another as brothers and sisters, so that no one is excluded and that communion is stronger than every division,” he added.

The image of Mary currently venerated is a 12th-century Romanesque wooden sculpture, just over 3 feet tall, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus.

Except for the faces and hands, the statue is covered in gold, while the Virgin’s dark complexion has earned her the popular nickname “La Moreneta." In 2023, Pope Francis offered a Golden Rose to this venerated image.

Among those who entrusted themselves to her was St. Ignatius of Loyola, in one of the most profound conversions in Christian tradition: “After a night spent in prayer before the Virgin, [he] laid aside his knightly arms — a moment that marked the beginning of a new life in the service of Jesus Christ,” Pope Leo XIV recalled.

For centuries, faithful from all walks of life have passed through this sanctuary, praying the rosary bead by bead, because Mary, “Mare de Déu,” as the pope said, “is fundamental in the life of every Christian.”

“I am happy to come to the feet of La Moreneta to entrust to her, with full confidence in her maternal intercession, my Petrine ministry and the mission of the Church in a world that cries out for justice and peace,” the pope said.

“I invite you today to accept Mary’s invitation: ‘Do whatever he tells you' (Jn 2:5). These words spoken at Cana in Galilee contain a true guide for Christian living, because Mary leads us to Christ and teaches us to listen to his voice, obey his word, and allow him to transform us,” he added.

The pontiff also made clear the message God brought to the world when he became man: “Jesus shows us the path of mercy, reconciliation, truth, and gentleness. At the same time, he exposes the violence that can lurk in our words and attitudes: criticism that humiliates, condemnation that destroys, and aggression that divides.”

That hidden violence, he continued, “can often disguise itself as a kind of armor, which we use to protect our wounds, our fears, and the suffering caused by injustice.”

Over the centuries, Montserrat has grown as living things do — with scars and memory. It has not always been a place of peace. It was plundered, destroyed, abandoned. Yet it always rose again, as if the mountain itself sustained it.

Leo XIV concluded by asking that “Mary, Mother of the Church, always guide us to Jesus. I invite you to honor her with these words that you know so well: To the Catalans, you will always be the Princess; to the Spanish people and to the whole world, all our love; say to us: You are my treasure, I am your mother, do not be afraid.”

In the abbey cloister, hundreds of people waited eagerly for the pope. Among them was Miguel, a kind-eyed boy who wrote a letter hoping to hand it to the pontiff himself.

“He wanted to write it in Italian, even though the pope — as we know — speaks Spanish perfectly,” said his father, also named Miguel. In the letter, he asks nothing for himself or his family.

“I would like him to bless all of Ukraine,” said the 9-year-old, an avid reader who currently keeps the greatest of all books on his nightstand. “I’m reading the Bible. I love everything about it,” he said.

‘Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing’

Also waiting for the pope were two nuns from the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor, Sister Ángeles Piqué, from a small town in Lleida, and Sister Doraliza, originally from Cajamarca, Peru.

“We need the pope to bring us Christ’s message: unity, fraternity, and to come to the Virgin as our point of reference," Sister Doralizia said.

She gave voice to the widespread devotion to the Virgin of Montserrat in this region of Spain. “Catalonia without La Moreneta would be nothing,” she said.

“Our Lady of Montserrat is a very special grace. This is her sanctuary, and all her children come here to ask for her protection and to be sheltered under her mantle,” Piqué added.

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.

For more than a thousand years, generations of Catholics in Madrid have turned to Our Lady of Almudena in times of celebration, hardship, and prayer. On June 8, that enduring devotion received one of the Church’s highest marks of recognition when Pope Leo XIV bestowed a Golden Rose upon the historic statue.

“As a symbol of the pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a Golden Rose at her feet,” Leo said during a ceremony at Madrid’s Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena.

The papal honor — one of the highest distinctions a pope can bestow upon a Marian image or shrine — recognizes the deep devotion generations of Spanish Catholics have shown to the Blessed Virgin under the title of Almudena.

The exact origin of the gifting of a Golden Rose is unknown, although it is considered one of the oldest papal traditions. The earliest reliable record dates to 1096, when Pope Urban II sent one to Fulcone d’Angers.

Hidden in the citadel wall

Addressing the faithful gathered in the cathedral, Leo reflected on the image’s unique place in Madrid’s history.

“For centuries, countless generations of Madrileños have venerated this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her divine Son in her arms and presenting him to us,” the pope said.

According to long-standing tradition, the devotion dates to the early centuries of Christianity in Spain. When Muslim forces conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in A.D. 712, Christians in Madrid reportedly concealed the statue within the city’s defensive walls to protect it from destruction. The image remained hidden for centuries as Christian kingdoms gradually sought to reclaim territories across the peninsula during the Reconquista.

The wall that fell 

In 1083, after King Alfonso VI of Castile recaptured Madrid, Christians searched for the long-lost statue. Tradition holds that after days of prayer, a section of the city wall suddenly collapsed, revealing the image preserved within. Witnesses reported seeing lights near the site, and the statue was discovered largely intact despite centuries of concealment.

Recalling the story, Leo noted that “during challenging periods for the Christian community, the statue of the Virgin Mary was hidden in a niche of the citadel wall for protection. It remained concealed for some time, until parts of the wall collapsed and it was miraculously discovered intact.”

The title “Almudena” derives from the Arabic word “al-mudayna,” meaning “citadel” or “fortress,” a reference to the location where the image was found.

A message for today 

In his homily, the pope used the collapse of the wall as a spiritual lesson for modern society.“

It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people,” Leo said. “This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his most holy mother, invites us to follow.”

Leo connected that image to challenges facing the modern world, observing that “there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate, and isolate.”

The ceremony also highlighted the popeʼs connection to Spain, a nation whose Catholic heritage has profoundly shaped the history of the Church. By honoring one of Spain’s most beloved Marian images, the pontiff underscored the enduring importance of popular Marian devotion and the Christian roots that continue to influence Spanish culture.

Renewing faith and hope 

Beyond its historical significance, the story of Our Lady of Almudena continues to resonate with Catholics today. The devotion recalls themes of perseverance, hope, and trust in God’s providence, themes Pope Leo himself highlighted as he encouraged the faithful to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope.

Calling the devotion a source of hope, Leo described it as “a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward.”

He concluded by encouraging Catholics to remain steadfast in faith, charity, and hope, asking that the intercession of Our Lady of Almudena strengthen believers in their love for Christ and help them “form bonds and restore the universal language of communion, fraternal love, and harmony.”

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.