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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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