Spain’s Felipe VI and Queen Letizia (2R), Princess Leonor (L) and Princess Sofia (R) welcome Pope Leo XIV (C) at the Royal Palace in Madrid on June 6, 2026. Pope Leo XIV is visiting Spain on June 6-12 with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands, where he will meet with migrants and organizations dedicated to helping them.
Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images
Pope Leo on Saturday urged global leaders to stop dividing their electorates with “sterile simplifications,” calling on them to listen to the world’s cries for peace as he met migrants and some 600,000 young people at the start of a week-long tour of Spain.
Leo, who has angered U.S. President Donald Trump by criticizing his anti-immigration policies and the war in Iran, visited a Church-run shelter for the homeless in Madrid and will meet migrants in the Canary Islands during the five-stop visit.
He said, before touching down in Spain, that he hoped the tour would set an example for the world in respecting “every human being.”
“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 said in a speech before King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
“I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history, so as to overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity,” he added.
Technology was partly to blame for creating an environment that magnifies prejudices and weakens critical thinking, Leo said.
He drew on Spain’s history as an example of peaceful coexistence among religions and cultures, citing how Christians, Muslims and Jews cooperated during medieval times to advance human knowledge by translating Arabic texts into Latin, Spanish and Hebrew at the School of Translators in Toledo.
“Your own history suggests that a culture of encounter, not confrontation, is what fosters stability and prosperity,” he said.
Huge crowds expected
Hundreds of thousands lined the streets of central Madrid to witness the first visit to Spain by a pope since 2011.
Some waved Vatican and Spanish flags or held up babies to be blessed as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile from which he was seen again doing the “6-7” hand gesture popular among young people.
Pope Leo XIV speaks with the faithful during his visit to Caritas charity’s center for homeless people “Cedia 24 horas” in Lucero neighborhood in Madrid, on June 6, 2026. Pope Leo XIV is visiting Spain June 6-12 with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands, where he will meet with migrants and organizations dedicated to helping them.
Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images
A 2025 survey by Fundacion SM found a surge in interest in Catholicism among young people in Spain, with 28.8% declaring themselves practicing Catholics in 2025, up from 17.6% in 2020.
“When I see the pope doing the ‘6-7’, it feels familiar. I think there will be more and more Catholics because of him,” said Perla Garcia, 15, as she waited for Leo to attend a vigil.
In the afternoon, Leo visited a homeless shelter where he heard the stories of migrants who had been helped to settle when they first arrived in Madrid.
In sharp contrast to many leading Western powers, not least Trump’s United States, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government has opened a mass amnesty program, allowing an estimated 500,000 immigrants to apply for legal status.
Senegalese migrant Khadry, who gave the pope a replica of his Spanish residency card, described feeling lost and alone when he first arrived in Spain.
“I had left everything behind and didn’t know where to start. Today I have a job, I’ve sorted out my immigration status, and I want to support others who arrive here just as I did,” he said.
Competing with Bad Bunny
The pope’s visit to the Spanish capital coincided with concerts by Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, and local church officials have indicated a meeting between the two is possible while the pope is in Madrid.
As Bad Bunny was performing at football club Atletico Madrid’s Metropolitano stadium, the pope was presiding over a vigil with about 600,000 young people outside the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, home to bitter rival Real Madrid.
“In the face of the emptiness of indifference and compliance, before the violence of war and lies, you must be the sparks of a new humanity,” he told the gathering.
Pope Leo XIV arrives to visit Caritas charity’s center for homeless people “Cedia 24 horas” in Lucero neighborhood in Madrid, on June 6, 2026. Pope Leo XIV is visiting Spain on June 6-12 with stops in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands, where he will meet with migrants and organizations dedicated to helping them.
Stefano Rellandini | Afp | Getty Images
Leo joked on his flight from Rome that he was competing with Bad Bunny for young people’s attention.
“If they were confronted with the question: do they want to see Bad Bunny or do they want to see the pope, I think many will go to see Bad Bunny,” he said, before adding: “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope.”
Leo is scheduled to give more than 20 speeches during his first trip to a European Union country outside Italy, and will be the first pope to address the Spanish parliament.
During his June 6-12 trip, the first U.S. head of the Catholic Church will also inaugurate a new tower in Barcelona’s famed Sagrada Familia basilica and will meet survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, the Vatican said, adding that further details will be provided after the meeting.
Some victims complained they were excluded from the meeting. They called for Leo to listen to them in a “truly inclusive” manner and for reparations to include legal recognition for victims, lifelong psychological care and adequate compensation.
“We don’t want a photo with the pope: we want rights and reparations for all the victims,” a collective of groups representing victims said in a statement.
A 2023 report by Spain’s human rights ombudsman estimated hundreds of thousands of victims of clergy abuse there over decades, echoing similar scandals that have shaken the Church internationally.
