Pope Leo XIV on Saturday called for an end to 'polarising narratives' and 'sterile simplifications' as he began a week-long visit to Spain, his first as pontiff and the first papal visit to the country in 15 years. The US-born pope, received by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the royal palace in Madrid, praised Spain's 'faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism' and its 'active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples.' The visit comes amid tensions between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and US President Donald Trump over Iran and Gaza. The pope, himself criticized by Trump for anti-war views, defended his message of peace as essential, not naive or confrontational.
The pontiff later visited a homeless center run by Catholic charity Caritas, extolling its work against 'secular ideologies.' In the evening, he led a prayer vigil at a square next to Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium before an estimated 500,000 mostly young people, who gave him a rock-star welcome.
The state visit will include an unprecedented address to the Spanish parliament and a meeting with victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, an issue King Felipe called 'essential in the process of healing.' The pope described abuse as 'an open wound.' Sanchez's government and the Church signed an agreement in March to compensate victims.
On Sunday, around a million people are expected for the pope's mass in central Madrid. He will then travel to Barcelona to bless the new tower of the Sagrada Familia Basilica, now the world's tallest church, and later to the Canary Islands to honor migrants who died crossing to Europe.