Spanish Catholics are eagerly awaiting a visit from Pope Leo XIV this week, the first papal trip to the country since Pope Benedict XVI travelled to Madrid for World Youth Day in 2011. Source: NCR Online.
But Leo’s June 6-12 visit will show how he speaks on key issues that reverberate far beyond the Iberian peninsula.
With stops in Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, the Pope is dedicating an unusually long time to his visit. His scheduled trip to France, on September 25-28, is only four days.
While Spain is familiar ground for Leo, who travelled there frequently as head of the Augustinian order, as Pope, his visit will bring him into one of Europe’s most charged political landscapes, where a fragile Socialist-led government faces a surging far-right that has turned anti-immigration rhetoric into its rallying cry.
In Madrid, the Pope will make history becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church to address Spain’s parliament; he is expected to speak on unity in one of Europe’s most politically polarised nations.
The Pope will meet with migrants and organisations supporting them in the Canary Islands – a destination for migrants seeking to make the perilous ocean journey from North Africa to Europe.
In Barcelona, he will celebrate Mass at the Sagrada FamÃlia, the basilica designed by Antoni Gaudà and now crowned by its newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ.
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In first major European trip, Pope’s Spain visit to touch on polarization, migration (By Justin McLellan, NCR Online)
