Els: MBN360 Europe
Pope Leo XIV is set to visit Spain next month in a weeklong trip.
According to the Vatican, the Pope’s visit to Spain, which will feature twelve speeches, four Masses, and around ten meetings with political, ecclesial, and civic leaders. There will be three main stops: Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands.
The June 6-12 visit will first bring Leo to Madrid for meetings with the government, parliament and King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. He will also preside over a prayer vigil with young people that will recall the last time a Pope visited Spain: 2011, when Madrid hosted World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI.
On Monday, June 8, the Pope will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in the morning, before addressing members of parliament at the Congress of Deputies. He will then meet with bishops at the headquarters of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference and, in the evening, join the local diocesan community at the Bernabéu Stadium.
The Head of the Spanish Catholic bishops conference, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid, highlighted Leo’s planned address to parliament while in Spain as particularly significant. Only on rare occasions do Popes address foreign legislatures, and the speeches often end up among the most noteworthy of a pontificate.
Argüello expressed belief that it’s of great importance because parliament “as the embodiment of national sovereignty, needs to reflect on what an ethical and spiritual reference means at a time of the undoubtedly necessary renewal of our democratic life.”
In Barcelona, Leo will present to mark the 100th anniversary, on June 10, of the death of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, who designed Sagrada Familia, the world’s tallest church. Leo will celebrate an evening Mass in the basilica and inaugurate its Tower of Jesus Christ, the soaring central piece that was moved into place in February.
The tower brought Sagrada Familia to its maximum height, 172½ meters (around 566 feet) above Barcelona, but the building is still far from complete. When Benedict visited in 2010, he consecrated the basilica, and there will still be unfinished related business when Leo visits: Gaudí is on the path to possible sainthood, but he won’t be canonized during the pope’s trip, Spain’s bishops said.
Read also:
- GES warns schools against unauthorised fee collection from students.
- Roads Minister satisfied with progress of ‘Big Push’ projects in Upper West, Upper East
- Climate Change is now a National Development Challenge – Seidu Salifu
- New TCDA Pacts Target Soil Recovery And Apiculture Profits
- Black Stars Goalkeepers’ trainer impressed with Hearts of Oak coaching staff
The Pope will once again highlight his concern for marginalized communities. In Madrid, he will visit a homeless shelter and in Barcelona, a prison facility.
Pope Leo To Visit Migrants In Canary Islands
Moreover, the Pontiff’s trip will also take him to the Canary Islands.
Leo will meet with organizations working with migrants in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The following day, he will meet with migrants at a reception center in Tenerife and separately with Spanish groups that work with them.
The Canary Islands are roughly 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the closest point in Africa, but to avoid security forces, many migrants attempt longer journeys that can take days or weeks.
The islands have been a steppingstone for migrants trying to reach Europe from West Africa and Morocco for decades. According to Spain’s Interior Ministry statistics, arrivals peaked in 2024 with nearly 47,000 arrivals. Following pressure and deals between the European Union, Spain and the governments of Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, arrivals have fallen dramatically, with just over 2,000 migrants landing in the Canaries in the first four months of 2026.
Spain’s government under Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has championed legal immigration at a time when many governments in Europe are trying to decrease migrant arrivals and step up deportations. Underway in the nation of 50 million is a migrant amnesty measure that aims to legalize the status of an estimated 500,000 people the government says are living in Spain without authorization. Conservative opposition parties have criticized the approach, especially Vox, which has described the legalization push as an “attack on our identity.”
However, Spain’s leftist government has said that the measure has the support of a broad coalition that includes the Catholic Church and many Spanish business leaders. Spain’s population is aging, and Sánchez has repeatedly said that the country needs more workers to maintain its growing economy and contribute to social security.
Spain’s population now includes around 10 million foreign-born residents or one in every five people. Many are from Latin America and Africa.
A few weeks after Leo visits the Canary Islands, the first US-born Pope will travel to the main migrant entry point to Europe, the Italian island of Lampedusa, Sicily, on July 4, to meet with migrants there.
