OFFICIAL PROGRAMME INCLUDES CONGRESS SPEECH, MIGRANT CENTRE AND BARCELONA PRISON
Pope Leo XIV will make a historic visit to Spain from Saturday 6 June to Friday 12 June, becoming the first pontiff to address the Spanish Parliament during a trip lasting almost a week.
The Vatican has published the official programme for the trip, which will include stops in Madrid, Barcelona, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. The visit will focus on social issues including homelessness, migration, prison ministry, young people and the role of culture in public life.
The Pope will celebrate four Masses during the trip and visit several symbolic locations, including a homeless shelter in Madrid, Brians 1 prison in Barcelona, the port of Arguineguín in Gran Canaria and a migrant reception centre in Tenerife.
FIRST STOP: MADRID
The visit will begin in Madrid, where Pope Leo XIV will be received by the King and Queen of Spain at the Royal Palace.
He will then visit the Cedia 24 Horas homeless support centre run by Cáritas in Carabanchel. Later, he will attend a youth prayer vigil with Eucharistic Adoration in Plaza de Lima.
On Sunday, the Pope will celebrate Mass in Plaza de Cibeles at 9.30am before taking part in the Corpus Christi procession.
He will also meet members of the Order of Saint Augustine, the religious order to which he belongs, at the Apostolic Nunciature, where he will stay during his time in Madrid.
Later that day, he will attend an event called “Weaving networks with the worlds of culture, art, economy and sport” at the Movistar Arena. In the evening, he will have dinner at the residence of Madrid’s cardinal archbishop, José Cobo.
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV will receive Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Nunciature before going to the Congress of Deputies for a joint session of Parliament. It will be the first time a Pope has visited and addressed Spain’s Parliament.
The Spanish Episcopal Conference said it hopes the speech will help contribute to a “necessary regeneration of our democratic life”. Its president, Luis Argüello, highlighted the significance of hearing from a figure he described as a global moral and spiritual authority.
The Pope will later meet Spanish bishops at the headquarters of the Episcopal Conference and visit Almudena Cathedral for a moment of prayer.
In the evening, he will meet faithful from Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. On Tuesday, after a farewell meeting with volunteers at Ifema, he will fly to Barcelona.
BARCELONA: PRISON, MONTSERRAT AND SAGRADA FAMILIA
In Barcelona, Pope Leo XIV will visit Brians 1 prison in Sant Esteve Sesrovires. The prison holds both men and women and has had a mixed module since 2018. It will be the second prison visit of his pontificate.
He will also visit the parish of Sant Agustí in the Raval neighbourhood to meet the Augustinian community.
After arriving in Barcelona, the Pope will go to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia for midday prayer. He will later lead a prayer vigil at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium on Montjuïc.
On Wednesday, he will visit Brians 1 prison before travelling to the monastery of Montserrat to pray the rosary and have lunch with the Benedictine monks.
The highlight of the Barcelona programme will be a Mass at the Sagrada Familia at 7pm. After the Mass, the Pope will bless the newly completed Tower of Jesus Christ, the tallest tower of the basilica at 172.5 metres. The event coincides with the centenary of the death of architect Antoni Gaudí.
CANARY ISLANDS: MIGRATION AT THE CENTRE OF THE VISIT
The final part of the trip will take Pope Leo XIV to the Canary Islands, where migration will be the main focus.
In Gran Canaria, he will meet organisations working with migrants at the port of Arguineguín, a symbolic arrival point for boats travelling from Africa.
He will later meet clergy at the Cathedral of Santa Ana and end the day with Mass at the Gran Canaria Stadium.
On Friday, June 12, the Pope will visit the Las Raíces migrant reception centre in Tenerife, which houses some of the most vulnerable arrivals.
He will also meet integration groups in Plaza del Cristo de La Laguna before concluding his visit to Spain with a Mass at the port of Santa Cruz.
