The pontiff praises Madrid as a beacon of inclusion as about 1.2 million individuals collect for Sunday mass.
Printed On 7 Jun 2026
An oceanic crowd has stuffed the streets of the Spanish capital Madrid with chants, cheers and applause to greet Pope Leo XIV on the second day of a weeklong apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.
The Vatican and native organisers stated about 1.2 million individuals braved the warmth to be current within the landmark Cibeles Sq. on Sunday in what is predicted to be the most important occasion throughout his go to to the nation.
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Throngs of individuals pressed alongside boundaries close to the sq. – greatest often known as the rallying level for Actual Madrid soccer followers celebrating the membership’s titles – waving flags and shouting “Lengthy stay the pope”, as Leo arrived in his white popemobile for the occasion. Some tossed flower petals marking his arrival.
“Might Madrid proceed to be a welcoming and inclusive metropolis, the place social life is impressed by true human values,” the pontiff wrote within the guestbook as he was handed the important thing to town by its mayor.
Leo started his journey on Saturday, assembly migrants and the homeless and attending a vigil with about 600,000 younger individuals in Madrid. His June 6-12 go to additionally contains stops in Barcelona and the Canary Islands, the place he’ll meet migrants and refugees who risked their lives crossing there from West Africa.
He stated he hoped the go to, his first to a European Union nation exterior Italy, would set an instance to the world about respecting “each human being” and urged leaders to cease dividing electorates.
“I’m delighted that he’s praying for us migrants and for our security,” stated Andrea Margarita, a 72-year-old Peruvian who arrived in Spain six months in the past, as she waited within the crowd in a wheelchair along with her daughter.
After mass, Leo was scheduled to carry a non-public assembly with fellow members of his Augustinian spiritual order in the afternoon earlier than assembly figures from the world of leisure, sport and tradition at a live performance venue in central Madrid.
