Of Benedetta Capelli
Madrid as a symbol of unity; Barcelona, with the beauty of the basilica of Sagrada Familia a wonderful work designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí. Then Montserrat, a place of Marian devotion. And finally the Canary Islands, where the migratory reality shows its most dramatic face.
These are the main stages of the fourth international apostolic journey of Leo XIV, which will take place in Spain from 6 to 12 June. The program of the visit – announced last 25 February, together with others this 2026, namely that to the Principality of Monaco, carried out on 28 March, and that to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, which took place from 13 to 23 April – was announced today, Wednesday 6 May, by the Holy See Press Office.
An intense journey, whose motto – released last April 7 – is “Alzad la mirada”, taken from the Gospel of John (4, 35) and containing Jesus’ invitation to raise our gaze beyond daily worries to rediscover the presence of God and open ourselves to others.
Twelve speeches, five greetings and five homilies will be given by the Bishop of Rome who will stop three days in Madrid, two in Barcelona, with a stop in the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, one day in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and one in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Fifteen years after Benedict XVI, therefore, another Pontiff will be welcomed to Iberian land on a journey during which he will inaugurate the tower of Jesus Christ of Sagrada Familiathe tallest of the basilica characterized by a twelve-sided plan and with a total height of 172.5 meters. A moment that will fall on the day in which we remember the hundred years since the death of Antoni Gaudì, “God’s architect” who became Venerable in April last year. From Catalonia the Pope will then fly to the Canary archipelago, a landing place for thousands of migrants who leave Africa to reach Europe.
The Pope will land in Madrid at 10.30am on Saturday 6 June, after a flight of approximately two and a half hours which will take off from Rome Fiumicino airport at 8am. The first official appointment will be the courtesy visit to the Royal Family and, to follow, the meeting with the authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps. In the afternoon, Leo XIV will travel to barrio de Luceroa peripheral area of the city, to meet the operators and people assisted by the social project “Cedia 24 Hours”, a structure for the homeless managed by the diocesan Caritas of Madrid. A project born in 1977 and which every year accompanies a growing number of people: in 2025 alone there were 2,500. In the evening, the prayer vigil with the young people.
Sunday 7 June, on the day of the celebration of Corpus Christithe Pontiff will preside over the mass in the Plaza de Cibeles which will be followed, in the afternoon, by the private meeting with the members of the Augustinian Order, to which Leo XIV himself belongs, which has now become a habit in his travels. Also on the afternoon of 7 June, the meeting on the theme “Weaving networks with the world of culture, art, economy and sport” will take place in the Movistar Arena.
The morning of Monday 8 June will be dedicated to institutional meetings: the Pope will first see, at the nunciature, the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, and then, at the headquarters of the Congress, the members of Parliament. This will be followed, at the headquarters of the Episcopal Conference, by the welcome of the Spanish bishops, followed by prayer and homage to the Virgin of Almudena, Patroness of Madrid, kept in the Cathedral named after her.
In the evening, a meeting with the diocesan community is planned in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, home of the Real Madrid football team.
On Tuesday 9 June, before leaving the Spanish capital, the Pontiff will greet the volunteers who made his visit possible. Then, around 11am, the departure by plane for Barcelona where the arrival is expected after just over two hours of flight. The visit to the Catalan city will begin with the midday prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, then in the evening the Pope’s first speech in the prayer vigil at the “Lluís Companys” Olympic Stadium.
The following day, 10 June, the meeting will be held at the “Brians 1” penitentiary center and the prayer of the rosary in the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, a Benedictine monastic complex about 50 km from Barcelona, which houses the statue of the Virgin of Montserrat, also known as “La Moreneta”, proclaimed patroness of Catalonia in 1881 by Leo XII. It should be remembered that a wooden reproduction of this effigy is often placed next to the altar of Confession, during the liturgical celebrations presided over by the Pontiff in the Vatican basilica.
Leo XIV will also stop for lunch with the Benedictine community of Montserrat. Then, in the afternoon, in the church of San Agustì, he will encounter the realities of diocesan charity and assistance and will preside over the mass in the Sagrada Familia with the inauguration of the Tower of Jesus Christ.
Thursday 11 June, at 8.30, the Pope will leave Barcelona for two days in the Canary Islands and therefore in the migratory reality. The first meeting in Gran Canaria will be with those who work in this field, in the port of Arguineguín, the arrival point of thousands of people in recent years. Then, in the cathedral of Saint Anne, the dialogue with the bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and pastoral workers and finally the mass, in the Gran Canaria stadium.
On Friday 12 June, the last day of his stay in Spain, Leo XIV will move to Santa Cruz de Tenerife: here too he will embrace migrants in the “Las Raices” centre, one of the main temporary reception facilities for migrants in the Canary archipelago. Then, at 12.15 pm he will preside over the Eucharistic celebration at the local port Celebrà. Finally, takeoff is scheduled for Rome at 3pm, with the return to the Vatican in the evening.
