MADRID — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Madrid on Saturday for a visit to Spain. This trip marks the first time a pope has visited Spain in 15 years.
King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez greeted Leo XIV at the airport upon his arrival. Leo XIV will meet with survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his visit and will also deliver an address on Monday to a joint session of Spain's Congress of Deputies and Senate. This will be the first time a pope has spoken before the Spanish parliament.
During his flight, Leo XIV told reporters that accounts of increased religious participation among young people in Spain were encouraging.
An estimated 500,000 people attended an evening prayer vigil led by Leo XIV at Plaza de Lima in Madrid. He addressed societal polarization and human dignity at the event. Leo XIV said, "Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated."
Leo XIV urged a focus on truth. King Felipe VI referenced the clergy abuse situation in his welcome address to Leo XIV. Felipe VI said that abuse cases "neither are nor can be representative of the immense ecclesial community." He also stated, "Your clarity and firmness, which I also wish to acknowledge, are essential in the process of healing and repairing the harm inflicted: they are essential for the victims, for the faithful, for the church, and for society." Leo XIV acknowledged the ongoing impact of these issues, saying, "Abuses are still an open wound."
Pope Benedict XVI previously visited Spain in 2011 for World Youth Day. Leo XIV, prior to becoming pope, had traveled to Spain dozens of times. The current visit also includes a Mass celebration at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of architect Antoni Gaudí's death.
Leo XIV will conclude his trip with a two-day visit to the Canary Islands. There, he will meet with migrants and humanitarian aid workers before placing a floral wreath into the ocean at a port in Las Palmas. This action will memorialize migrants who died during Atlantic crossings. In 2020, thousands of migrants slept outdoors for several weeks at the Las Palmas port due to a surge in arrivals.