More than 1.2 million people participated this Sunday, June 7, in the Corpus Christi mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV in Plaza de Cibeles, in Madrid, in one of the largest religious gatherings held in Spain in recent decades, according to authorities.
The turnout was so high that the police closed access to Paseo de la Castellana after the expected capacity was largely exceeded, reports the EFE agency, noting that thousands of people were still trying to approach the celebration area when the accesses were closed.
Before the crowd gathered in the center of the Spanish capital, Leo XIV appealed to Catholics to transform faith into social commitment and reject indifference. “No one can kneel before God and despise their brother”, stated the pontiff during the homily.
The Pope also invited the faithful to let themselves be freed “from selfishness, indifference and a comfortable and private faith” and to respond to the call to conversion, also in accordance with the EFE. Leo
